Two Worlds
by Cadoba123
Summary: [AU] Atop the platform were five mammals. All were raccoon, except for one badger. Their heads were covered in thin, white bags. Their pained breaths were visible in the frigid air. They sat on their knees, naked, their hands and feet bound by rope. An execution. And today was Nick's turn. He didn't worry – he heard the Humans did the same.
1. (01) The Gray World

1.1 - The Gray World

Cold. The windows were gray and lined with frost, but they always were. Gray buildings and gray towers sat beyond the pane of glass, dotted with dull and cracked windows. Above them sat a gray haze and unmoving, gray clouds. Below them was a thick fog of gray, concealing the dreary streets below.

The alarm buzzed atop the nightstand, vibrating slightly every few seconds. Most animals would disregard the buzzing, but it was enough to rile her senses awake.

Judy's paw silently probed for the alarm before flicking a switch, turning it off. She rolled deeper into her bed, stretching and rubbing her eyes. She let out a breath, releasing a visible puff of warm air. Despite being coated in a thin layer of fur, it provided meek resistance against the cold.

Especially in these early mornings.

She gradually rose out of bed, yawning. She stretched her chest for a moment before finally ending in a sitting position. She licked the back of her paw before rubbing her eyes again.

The TV against the opposite wall suddenly flickered to life. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust. There was a news reporter talking about something, standing in the middle of a freeway. Judy reached for the remote and increased the volume.

"We have, uh, what appears to be a fatal crash on the 59 south-bound." the reporter said. "The accident appears to have been caused by a missing engine chip. We here at ZT4 News highly encourage everyone to install a chip before the December 21st deadline..."

Judy scratched the back of her neck for a second. She had completely forgotten about the deadline. She'd have to get her car checked. She got up and out of bed.

The apartment was small, as were most of them in this part of the city. Everything was a little different for prey.

Judy licked her paw and rubbed her face. She would have liked to use the fountainhead a little ways down the hall, but the water had been shut off by the city for a few weeks now. No one was rushing to fix it. She walked over to her clothing rack and grabbed her work clothes, still listening to the news.

"Five protesters are set to be executed this evening near the square, after publicly decrying Leader Wolfram. All are also suspected of possessing quantities of drugs." a coyote anchor announced.

Right when she'd be leaving work. Judy rolled her eyes. "Another thing to look forward to."

She laid her work clothes out across her bed. A short, black mini-skirt that halfway reached her knees and a white, ruffled undershirt. Just the way her boss liked it.

She slipped out of her nightwear and into her clothes. She grabbed a label from her dresser and pinned it around her breast. JUDY L. HOPPS – SECRETARY

Judy glanced at her reflection in the mirror. It was cracked, but she never seemed able to afford a new one. She tugged down her skirt some. It was awfully short, but that was what she had thought a month ago, just before her boss asked her to wear something shorter and even tighter. She had to do what he said. Still, it did bother her.

She straightened her top up before grabbing her keys, purse, and opening the door. Before stepping into the hall, she ran back and flicked the TV off before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

Judy shivered. Somehow, the hallway managed to be even colder than her room. Her clothes weren't doing her any favors either. The hall was empty, bar a homeless sheep on the far end. He sat there all day, every day. She felt his eyes on her figure until she turned the corner.

Her heels clacked with every step she took. As she briskly walked towards the elevator, she rummaged through her purse for a moment. She pulled out a ration card. It was a thin, red piece of paper, like a ticket. Imprinted was " _ONE RATION CARD – GOOD FOR ONE SMALL MEAL."  
_  
She rubbed the card between her fingers. Judy never had to use a ration card before moving to the city. Back in the Burrows, they would just eat from a basket of carrots or strawberries – there was no need for food rations. Things were different here. She almost starved that first week.

The panels lighting the hall hummed with electricity. She continued down a flight of stairs – the elevator was not in working order, and it hadn't been for several months now. The manila wallpaper around her was torn in some spot, and the edges were lined with mold. The steps were somewhat steep, clearly not designed for a rabbit, but she continued anyway, as she did every day.

At the end of the stairwell, she stepped out and into another hall. All stairways ended here. This area was more busy than the rest of the apartment. She could see dozens of different prey mammals, from the towering deer and moose to guinea-pigs and mice. Judy made her way down the hallway until turning another corner and entering the cafeteria.

The cafeteria. Or, at least, that's what they called it. Really, it was no more than a serviced booth that served dried packets of various foods. There were a few chairs and tables scattered about, not nearly enough to sit even half of the apartment's occupants. A few mammals sat there, talking quietly or eating alone. This is how it usually was.

Apart from the hushed conversations and the clinking of plastic forks and knives, the silence was deafening.

Judy continued towards the small booth – not much more than a large tray. She briefly glanced over the meager selection before finally grabbing a freeze-dried carrot bar. The thing was a pale orange and just larger than her paw, wrapped in a transparent plastic wrapper. She turned away and continued towards the exit. She used her teeth to tear away the plastic wrapping. She leaned against the wall beside the door for a moment as she ate the bar. It was crunchy and tasteless – more than likely stale. The bits of ice melted in her mouth, but it wasn't enough to revive the taste of the bar.

She always did prefer actual carrots. Granted, they weren't healthy, but they made for a nice treat every now and then. Fresh produce did not exist in Zootopia.

When she finally finished the carrot bar, Judy tossed the wrapper into a nearby trash can. She reached into her purse and grabbed a filter mask. She slipped it over her mouth. The string seemed to dig into the back of her head, but the pain soon subsided. She took a breath before pushing through the heavy, steel door.

She recoiled as the stench of the world hit her. She scrunched her nose beneath the mask and continued down the dirty, stained sidewalk.

As she walked, she could feel eyes from all around look and watch her like magnets. They poured over her body, both up-close and from afar. She tried not to match their eyes, instead increasing her pace. The last time she had tried wearing a jacket over her outfit to work, she had been berated by her boss all day.

A heavy mist clung to the cracked, wet streets. All of the buildings around her were dull and gray, so she figured she wasn't missing anything. The sidewalk was littered with trash and excrement, mammals huddled together beside building and flickering streetlights.

Judy passed by a building, coming upon an alleyway. Usually, the thin strip of road remained blocked off behind a locked gate, but today it was wide open. As she continued to walk, she heard a scream come from the alley.

She began walking faster. Using her honed hearing, she could make out the sound of clothes rustling and a paw slap skin. Another scream came.

As she passed by, she glanced down the alleyway for a moment. There was a woman, a gazelle, probably in her mid-twenties, surrounded by several wolves. They pressed her against the wall, gripping by the neck as they molested her. She screamed again before noticing Judy. "Help! Help me, dammit!"

She was slapped in the face again and her head bashed into the brick wall. Judy quickly walked past the scene, stopping beside the next building over. She swallowed, her breathing rapid. The moans and cries for help hadn't yet ceased. Her fingers trembled for a moment as she regained her posture. Her eyes were watery. Why were they wet?

Judy continued walking until she came to a corner. There was a soldier there, a white fox, armed with an assault rifle. Prey waiting for the light at the corner tried not to make eye contact with the guard.

She stopped a few feet away from the guard. She, again, noticed his eyes on her. Her heart began to race and her neck began to itch as he continued to stare at her. She swallowed and began tapping her foot. The soldier shifted towards her and licked his chops. Judy continued to stare ahead. The traffic light across the street turned yellow, and then red.

Her heart pulsed. She swallowed again and blinked her, hoisting her purse back over he shoulder. A red image of a hand flashed periodically on the other side of the street. The soldier started towards her.

The red, flashing hand turned into a simple, white image of a nondescript mammal crossing the street. As Judy began to walk, she felt the soldier's paw lurch out and grab her bottom. She pulled away quickly, walking fast down the crossing lane.

The layer of fog continued to cling to the ground. The streets here, near the major buildings, were busier. The sidewalks bustled with movement as hundreds of mammals walked to their jobs. Security was also heightened here. Dozens of armed soldiers across several different species oversaw the crowds. Some were perched up on balconies, armed with high-powered sniper rifles, while others managed things from the ground. Everyone was too busy to stop and stare at her.

Through the thin mask, Judy could smell rain in the air. She shuffled through the crowds until she turned a corner, entering a towering skyscraper. The building was tall, easily reaching fifty or sixty stories. The walls were gray, broken up every now and then by black, tinted windows.

Judy pushed through the heavy doors, entering the main lobby. It was still cold here, but significantly better than outside.

The lobby was relatively decorated and well-lit, at least compared to her apartment. The floor was made of a kind of hardwood from the Rainforest District. It made every footstep and movement echo around the room. Those kinds of trees were rare now. The walls, however, were in poor condition. Stained and old, the wallpaper had started to tear away in some spots over the past few months, especially as the seasons grew colder. Around twenty other mammals were in the lobby with her, mostly talking among themselves. There was a guard in the corner of the room, but he wasn't paying her any attention.

She swallowed before starting towards the elevator. She quickly punched in the floor number before glancing up at the clock in the corner of the lobby. She was cutting things close. Judy sighed as the doors slid open. For the first time in what felt like a long time, she took a moment to consider things. " _Do I want this?"_

She paused for a moment. A few other mammals began to step into the elevator.

" _No."_

Judy went to move, but hesitated. This was wrong. She glanced back at the clock. She had only a few minutes left. " _What else is there?"  
_  
Nothing.

She finally stepped in.

* * *

"The whole bloody world's gone fucking mad, man." the armed hyena said. He gestured towards a small, box television set atop a power box. It showed grainy images of the Humans' missile tests. "One of these days, we'll show 'em."

Nick Wilde shifted his eyes from the gathering crowd across the street for a moment, glancing at the TV. "Well, that's why we have the anti-air system, you know."

The hyena shook his head. "That shit better bloody work."

It was growing colder, somehow. His fur stood up beneath his heavy uniform, in a feeble attempt to resist the frigid air. He breathed, releasing a visible cloud of hot air. Night was quick approaching. The sun had begun to set across the ocean, but no one could see a thing through this mist. The gray turned darker. Nick looked back at the growing crowd around the podium. Several guards – his colleagues, stood around the wooden platform.

Atop the platform were five mammals. All were raccoon, except for one badger. It would be difficult to tell from a distance, though. Their heads were covered in thin, white bags. Their pained breaths were visible in the frigid air. They sat on their knees, naked, their hands and feet bound by rope.

An execution.

And today was Nick's turn.

He swallowed before looking upwards. People watched from windows in the towering skyscrapers above him. It was hard to make out through the fog and growing darkness, but he could see the outlines of a few binoculars.

He felt a paw tap his shoulder. He turned around. It was the hyena. "Hey man, you ready for this?"

Nick sighed. "I've done this before. Never did like it."

"I did it once, a few months back. God, I still dream about every other evening. It was a 'bags-off' thing, you know." the hyena said. "The looks on their faces and that pathetic, scared look in their eyes. Then the blood, just going all over the fuckin' place. It's perfect, really."

There was a silence between the two. Nick shivered. It just kept becoming colder. The streetlights began to flicker back on up and down the street. He checked his badge on the shoulder of his uniform. There was a speck of dirt on it. He wiped it away. There was some commotion between guards across the street as several floodlights were powered on.

His radio crackled to life. "Wilde, you're up. It's time."

Nick breathed a deep breath. He checked his rifle one last time before breathing again. "Well, duty calls."

"Good luck, man." the hyena said. "This one's a big one."

Nick made his way across the street, towards the blinding floodlights. Traffic had been closed off for the entire block. Despite the frigid weather, the crowd lingered, now mostly silent. He could hear a baby fawn crying somewhere. He stopped by an armored truck. Several other soldiers stood around, checking in with networks and adjusting the little minutia. "Everything's set?"

"This one's special." the head of the division announced. He was a bobcat, easily twice his size. He handed Nick a small, printed card of paper. "Wolfram's gonna be watching. He wants you to read this before it all begins."

Nick looked over the card. He looked back up at the bobcat. "This is going to have an impact, you know."

"That's the point, dumbass." another fox said. The bobcat punched him in the arm before shaking his head. He went back into the vehicle for a second before returning, a handgun in one hand and a small, embedded microphone in the other.

"Take it," he said, offering the weapon to Nick. "Wolfram wants this to feel up-close and personal, you know, for maximum impact and all."

Nick paused before agreeing, taking the weapon and slipping on the microphone. "That works too."

"You've done this before." the bobcat said. "Just go on out there, say your lines, and drop 'em. Not too tricky."

A female tiger glanced up from a laptop set on the hood of the car, hooked up to a camera. "We go live in thirty."

"Go do it." the bobcat said. He smiled. "Make it fun."

Nick breathed deeply again before continuing up to the platform. Massive lamps flooded the platform with light. The air was freezing now, but the crowd still remained, now numbering three to four hundred mammals of every shape and size. The only thing between him and them was a four-man squadron and a few military barriers.

In front of the whole thing was a television camera. A light on its side periodically flashed red. The broadcast would be coming online soon. Nick straightened his posture and held the cue card up to the light. Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out the female tiger by the armored vehicle. The digits on her paw counted down from five. He swallowed as the camera began broadcasting. Speakers surrounding the crowd played his speech.

"Tonight is an important night. Not just for our fellow Zootopians, but for all of Animalia."

He looked out at the crowd. They were dead silent. Out of the hundreds, something – no – someone caught his eye. She was a bunny, maybe in her early twenties. She was in a secretary's outfit, just exiting a nearby building. She paused to glance at the scene before quickly walking away. She disappeared into the cold and dark. He continued.

"You see these five mammals, sitting on their knees on the floor I too stand on. They are mammals, no different from you or I."

"But they are criminals. They are guilty of conspiring and organizing against our state and the great Leader Wolfram. But furthermore, they plotted against you. By threatening Wolfram, they threatened you and your security."

The crowd remained silent. Nick walked around the platform and removed the bags from their heads, in accordance with the note. They looked bewildered, squinting in the overwhelming light. Nick continued.

"They have also engaged in countless acts of misdeeds and criminal behavior. They possessed drugs during their capture, no doubt intending to infect the wider populace with them."

"And tonight, these five shall pay for their crimes. There is no escape from the eyes of justice."

"Long live Animalia. Long live Wolfram."

Nick grabbed the gun and cocked it. It was custom made, decorated in elaborate engravings and carvings. There was a message engraved upon it. "And he doth deliver righteousness."

He walked around so the prisoners faced him and the crowd was at his back. He walked over to the first prisoner – a raccoon, just a little shorter than him. He trembled in cold air. His matted fur was blackened and bloodied. A long, infected gash ran along his back. Nick backed up pointed the gun down at the man's head.

It felt so heavy now.

He pulled the trigger, blasting a hole through the raccoon's head and exiting through his neck. Blood was flung all around the platform, some striking the other prisoners and Nick himself. The crowd jumped slightly as the loud crack echoed through the silent street. The body crumpled to the ground, away from Nick.

Nick moved to the next prisoner. He was also a raccoon, shaking and trembling violently. He tried to thrash his legs, but the binding was too strong. Nick pointed the gun at his head and fired.

The impact of the bullet threw the raccoon back some as the upper portion of his head was blown away. The body fell backwards and landed with a soft thud.

He moved on to the next prisoner, a badger. Despite the scene, he sat firm and straight. He stared straight ahead, an odd determination in his eyes. His strong, muscular body rivaled Nick in height. It was covered in cuts and bruises, especially along his face.

Nick turned his microphone off before speaking. "You have no fear."

"I do not fear death." he said. His voice was calm, but it was pained. He grunted. "I stand for something larger."

Nick pointed the gun at the badger's head. No response.

He pulled the trigger. Blood was thrown across the platform as the badger's head was blown away entirely. The hot, red liquid sprayed all over Nick's face and uniform as the body slumped down, still sitting on his knees.

A cry came from the next prisoner. She was a raccoon, just a few years younger than him. Nick quickly walked over and pointed the gun at her.

Her naked, trembling body was coated in the badger's blood. Cuts ran up and down her body. Her throat looked as if it had been wrung several times over the past week, and she bled from her bruised genitals. She shook as she tried to speak. "No, please."

The gunshot echoed around the downtown street, reverberating up and down the massive skyscrapers. The crowd remained mostly silent. He could make out a few muffled cries. Her body crumpled forward, the remnants of her head landing by his feet. It was a kind of face he'd seen before. She was beautiful once.

Nick walked over to the next and final prisoner. The raccoon's breathing was past and erratic. Nick noticed the hole extending into the prisoner's chest. For all intents and purposes, he was already dead.

"We do not fear you." he said. His voice was rough. He coughed, some blood flying from his mouth. "One of these days, you'll see. Everyone'll see. My death will resonate through these narrow city streets, across the plains and the oceans and the deserts and the mountains. My death will mean something."

He paused before continuing. "And yours, it'll mean nothing."

Nick breathed in before pointing the gun at him and pulling the trigger.

* * *

This side of Zootopia never slept. When the rest of the city was settling in for the night, the evening here was just getting started. The soldiers mostly leave by the end of the day, prompting underground gangs to come out in force and clash with the few that remained. The sounds of sex and crying could be heard throughout the building. Judy peered through her window, stained with grime and cracked in one corner, down at the street below.

There was a gang, comprised mostly of moose, on one end of the parking lot, and the uniformed soldiers, polar bears, their weapons drawn, on the other end of the lot. The leader of the gang held a handgun, pointing it around wildly.

Judy backed away from the window and let her blinds fall back into place. Above her, she could hear a bed rocking and a couple moaning. This happened every other night.

Her neighbors were fine, most of the time. A round of muffled shouting erupted from behind the thin walls. They were arguing about some game. Still, they were tolerable.

Her neighbors across the hall seemed okay, but she hadn't seen them in some time. The father of the family, an older-looking dog, generally kept to himself. The rest of the family was nice, but they hadn't lived here in months. The father came back every now and then, but only for a few hours every other month. It was a strange situation.

Judy sighed before collapsing back onto her bed. She stared at the single, bare lightbulb dangling from her ceiling. She would normally go down to the cafeteria and grab a quick bite before sleep, but she was trying to save up on ration cards. More and more frequently she found herself skipping meals or entire days to save up the cards.

Judy slowly rose from her bed and plucked her phone from her purse. They were still a new technology, but she had mastered it fairly quickly. She opened her communications app and set it up on the small table. She sat down and scrolled to her contacts list.

Mom and Pops – Offline

She sighed. "Of course."

As she went to close the app, she heard a single knock on her door. Her heart jumped as she snapped around. A paper had been slid under her door. It looked as if it were crumbled up.

Judy slowly got up and moved towards her door. She swallowed as she gradually turned the handle and pulled the door open, peeking her head outside. The hall was empty, bar the old man sitting in the far corner. She quietly shut the door and picked up the paper. She frowned. The paper was blank, except for the heading near the top.

Judy walked back over to her desk and examined it.

"ROOM 503 – RESISTANCE INFORMATION – URGENT" it read in big, bold letters near the top. Judy recoiled from the letter.

The paper had been delivered to the wrong room. Room 503 was the neighbor's room, across the hall. She sat back in her chair. So that's what he was doing, why he and his family had up and left town. They were members of the Resistance.

Judy sat down on her bed as she began to contemplate. The Resistance had been a thing for several centuries now, ever since the predators took rule. They faded in and out of obscurity, murdering a politician here and torching a crop there. Their most recent incident was no more than a month ago, when a car bomb exploded outside the Capitol, killing eleven officials, seventeen bystanders, and injuring over fifty-seven others. The whole thing led to a stricter crackdown on rebel activity across the country.

She looked again at the paper. There was only the heading, everything else was blank. She could feel the indentations of writing, but it wasn't quite visible.

She let out a breath as she set the paper down on her nightstand. A chill ran across her spine as she settled into bed, her breath visible in the cold air. She shivered as she slept, the bedsprings still squeaking above her and the neighbors shouting over whatever game they were playing.

Judy closed her eyes. This was no way to live.


	2. (02) A Leap of Faith

1.2 - A Leap of Faith

The photo behind the glass and wooden frame was worn and tattered, stained on one corner and torn on another. A large crease ran down the center of the image, which had begun to fade away, at least until it had been encased in glass and preserved forever.

Judy found herself glancing at it more and more often as she sat at the computer desk, taking care of what her boss needed.

It was a photo of her family. It was old, about twenty years or so. Time had treated the image poorly. Judy was about three or four years old when the picture was taken, out on a lake a few hundred miles from the Burrows. The three sat, spread out on a checkered picnic blanket, Judy was sitting in her mother's lap, both beaming with delight. Her father held the camera in one hand, leaning in so he could fit into the frame.

The smiles were genuine. Judy couldn't recall details of the lake or the surrounding forest – she was too young. She did remember the emotion she felt. A kind of pure, blissful delight she hadn't felt since. It emanated through their smiles in the weathered photo. She relived a piece of that memory every time she looked at it.

She heard her boss, a bear, clear his throat from down the hall. Judy quickly turned back towards her computer screen and continued typing up a memo she had been assigned. Her boss looked over her one last time before walking further down, towards the cubicles.

She patted her skirt down before continuing to type. She looked around again.

Judy had been given a small section of the floor, just outside her boss's office. The floor wasn't particularly large, holding no more than thirty, tightly-packed cubicles. The building hadn't undergone any maintenance in some time. The wood paneling along walls were beginning to fall away, revealing the cold, gray concrete beneath. The florescent lights that dotted the ceilings flickered every now and then, and there was a hole through the ceiling in the opposite corner of the room.

She fidgeted in her seat for a moment as her boss returned to his office. He shut the gnarled door behind him before taking a seat at his desk.

Judy looked back at the computer screen. She could feel his eyes on her. Shortly after getting the job, her boss had positioned her desk directly in front of his office. A few weeks later, he changed it so her desk faced away from him. Through his massive, glass windows, he had a perfect, unobstructed view of her.

She hated this. She hated him. She couldn't do anything about it.

As Judy began typing again, she heard the soft sound of footsteps coming towards her. Her ears perked up as she glanced at the hallway. There was a sheep walking towards her at a quick pace – Mimi Flooforn. She had joined the company less than a month ago during the hiring season. She was one of the final applicants, and she managed to land the job.

Judy hadn't seen her much, no more than a handful of times since her first week. She had chosen a spot in the far corner of the floor, where she filled out trucking manifests and confirmed drivers. She mostly kept to herself.

She stopped at Judy's desk and threw something into the small trash bin. Her face was beading with sweat – something was wrong.

Judy inhaled sharply as she looked up. "Mimi, what's going on?"

"Listen, I need you to keep quiet about this." Mimi answered. Her voice was hushed. You're the only one I think I can trust. I-"

"Mimi, if you want to tell me something in private, don't-" Judy said, her voiced hushed. She glanced back at their boss' office. He was turned away, laughing and talking on the phone. She looked back at Mimi. "Don't do it here."

"I already did it." Mimi said. She took a deep breath that seemed to calm her some. "Something's probably going to happen here, in this office, and it's gonna happen soon. All I want you to do is stay out of people's way, just try to blend into the background."

Judy shook her head, clearly confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Just stay back and stay safe, Hopps. You're one of the good ones." Mimi said. She swallowed and glanced at their boss before looking back at her. "I have to go."

As she was about to leave, Mimi leaned into Judy and whispered into her ear. "Check your trash bin."

Frowning slightly, Judy looked on as Mimi quickly walked down the hall and back to her cubicle. Something seemed wrong. Mimi was concerned. Worse, she was serious.

Judy peered into the small, plastic trash bin by her desk. Settled neatly atop an old chip bag, candy wrapper, and pound of shredded paper was a small, compact data drive. Judy reached in and extracted the device, analyzing it.

It was worn and old. Its white, plastic coating had turned a faint yellow, and scratches ran up and down the casing. The metal portion of the drive was also bent awkwardly, in such a way it wouldn't fit into her computer.

As she set it on her desk, a sudden bang echoed through the floor. The door near the front of the office exploded into shards of rotted wood as a team of soldiers stormed in. They quickly filed into the room, armed and shouting a flurry of orders. They were armed with assault rifles, pointing them around the room.

Judy covered her head and pressed her face against the desk. Virtually everyone else did the same, but the soldiers continued shouting. Their orders became more clear. "Put your heads on your desks and don't move a goddamn muscle!"

The team was a hodgepodge of predatory species – wolves, foxes, bears, and lions. As they began to search around the room, Judy's boss emerged from his office. This was met with another outbreak of shouting as the soldiers snapped towards him, aiming their guns and barking orders. Her boss quickly dropped to the carpet. His voice was muffled as he spoke. "What is going on here?"

"Are you the manager of this office?" a lion on the other end of the room asked.

"Yes, of course I am." her boss said. "I just want to know what's going on."

"You may stand, sir." a soldier said. As Judy's boss rose to his feet, the lead soldier, an arctic fox, made his way towards him. Judy covered the data drive with her arm, keeping her head pressed against the cold desk. The soldiers continued to search the room. They seemed to be checking the backs of computers.

The arctic fox began speaking to the boss, this time more quietly. Judy eavesdropped on their conversation. "We have reason to believe a member of a local Resistance chapter has embedded stolen data into their hard drive." he said. "We traced the activity to this office."

"Resistance activity, in my office?"

"I believe so, sir." the fox affirmed. "I doubt you will be implicated in this mess, a man of your nature."

Her bear boss smiled. "Why, thank you."

"We have it sir!" a soldier said from the corner of the room, holding a hard drive. It was from Mimi's desk. The rest of the squadron trained their weapons on Mimi, who sat silently.

They set the drive in a case and closed it. As a number of soldiers walked the hard drive out of the office, the fox walked over to Mimi. Judy raised her head a little in anticipation. She glanced back at the small data drive Mimi had given her. She pushed it behind her keyboard.

The fox stood beside Mimi. The two were about equal in height. Mimi stared straight ahead, not moving a muscle. The fox smiled. "How's it feel, traitor? You failed."

"No, I didn't." Mimi finally said.

The fox slapped her across the face. His claws dug into her face, streaking her with blood. It began to seep into her pure, white wool. Judy felt something turn inside her, something sharp and painful. Tears began to well in Mimi's eyes.

"You will be executed two weeks from now, downtown, in the square, where everyone is gonna watch." the fox continued. He gestured around the rest of the office. "Even them."

A silence hung in the room. Mimi didn't respond. After a minute, the fox sighed before walking away. Disgust was visible on his face. "Get her out of here."

Judy watched as the three remaining soldiers walked Mimi out of the office. One walked behind her, a handgun trained on her head at all times. She heard one of them mutter, "Fuckin' animals."

She glanced back at the data drive. Her boss was announcing something to the rest of the office, but she couldn't make out what. All of her attention was focused on the drive. She picked it up from her desk. She swallowed.

It felt heavier now.

* * *

He could see the heat from his breath in the cold. It was very visible, more visible than the breath of most mammals. A byproduct of his higher body temperature, which, sadly, still wasn't doing much on cold evenings like these. His coat did that job just fine.

Benjamin Richardson let out another breath. His eyes twinkled in Zootopia's city lights. His brown tufts of hair ruffled in the cool wind. Just a dozen feet away was six hundred feet of open air. He glanced over the building's ledge. With the fog and the darkness, he couldn't make out the street below. He could only hear the occasional gust of wind and the reverberating sounds of passing cars below.

At this height, the building seemed to sway lightly. This didn't bother him, though. Every now and then, he'd hear the building groan and tremble slightly. The whole thing was waiting to fall apart, held together by weak concrete and rotting, rusty beams.

He checked with the device strapped around his wrist again. The objectives were clear:

 _Get into the building._

 _Find and access the main server._

 _Copy the data._

 _Escape through any means necessary._

It seemed simple enough. They never turned out that way. Something, somehow, somewhere, would always go wrong. To work the job, you don't need to just be great at completing the objectives – you have to deal with what goes wrong.

And something always went wrong.

Ben crouched down and picked up his helmet. It was his father's, back from when the man fought in the Civil War. It was dinged and scratched up in many areas. Ben had made clear modifications to it. He had built a proper, more modern visor into the helmet. Night-vision goggles had been attached to the sand top, and an auditory aid had been drilled into its sides. For all intents and purposes, it was a brand new piece of body armor.

He had the sight of a wolf, the hearing of a rabbit, and the protection of a rhinoceros. That, in addition to his quick speed, sturdy, flexible frame, and automatic rifle. He was the apex predator.

Ben walked back over to the ledge of the building. Gray, fading walls ran across the face of the structure, eventually blending into the fog below. It was difficult to make out the floor numbering from here – everything looked the same. If the intelligence was indeed correct, then the server room was somewhere on the fiftieth floor. The building was sixty stories tall. He would need to count about ten windows down.

He would have to descend a hundred feet down the front of the building with nothing but a harness and a lot of luck.

He sighed as he slid the helmet on. This was a stupid idea.

Ben zipped open a small backpack by the ledge, revealing a long piece of roping. He walked over and tied one end around a pole. He clamped the other end onto the strap on his uniform, linking him and the rope. He walked over to the building's edge, his back facing the city. He exhaled before activating his night-vision goggles. The darkness turned green as sky remained black. The city was a dancing cacophony of white and light. "Let's do this."

He jumped off the side of the building, shortly before planting his feet on the wall. He started breathing quicker. He looked down. Even through the goggles, the street was obscured by a grayish-green glow.

Ben looked back up. He had already passed one window. Nine to go. As long as he stuck to the space between windows, he should be good.

Nine, eight, seven. He continued to scale down the face of the building. Even with the aid of his gloves, his hands began to ache. Six, five four. His stomach churned with every step he took. The moon was rising now, sporadically casting a dim glow over the city between passing clouds and plumes of smoke and fog. All it would take is a keen eye to spot him. Three, two, one...

He finally stood to the side of a window on the target floor. After descending himself to its height, he leaned to the side and lightly tapped on the glass. It was brittle. That's what happened after freezing every night and thawing every morning for the better part of three decades. He let our a breath of air. "Shit."

If he tried to remove the window carefully, it would more than likely shatter in his hands. Everyone on the surrounding two floors would hear it. Ben looked back down at the smoggy street. "There's a solution."

Ben grabbed the exposed corner of the window and lightly tugged on it. Part of the window popped out of its frame. It was cut in half by a crack that ran down the center. He would have to do this quickly.

In one swift, adept motion, Ben flung the two halves of the window from the frame and out into the open air. He watched as they sailed downwards, eventually vanishing behind the fog. Hopefully, no one happened to be standing just there.

There was now an empty space where the window once sat. He peered inside. There was simply a small, dark room. The door was closed and there didn't seem to be anyone nearby.

Ben carefully walked towards the empty window frame before finally stepping into it. As he gained his footing, he unlatched the rope from his vest. He took a breath as he examined his surroundings. Now, where were the servers?

The floor plans that had been shared with him were rough and incomplete. Every room was an approximation, based on satellite and some UAV imagery. While the drone images would be more detailed than the satellite ones, the city of Zootopia had created a basic no-fly zone. The colorful reconnaissance flights of decades past were impossible now.

He glanced back at the device on his wrist. The basic layout of the floor appeared, drawn in green, straight, digital lines. The server room was somewhere around the middle of the floor. If he could get down the hallway and through the maintenance rooms, he could make it to the servers.

Ben checked his automatic rifle. It was powerful, more than enough to take a fox or wolf in a single shot. Still, their speed and agility made them a threat, and really difficult to hit. Larger animals were typically more of a threat. While slow, rhinos and hippos could take almost an entire cartridge before finally dropping dead. Lions and bears stood between the two types of predators – ferocious, durable, and agile.

He walked towards the door. It was rotted and old – paint was beginning to chip away in many areas. Slinging the rifle around his back, he silently popped the door open slightly. There was an office – Ben must have descended into some kind of storage room. The office was empty, as expected. The military imposed a strict curfew on all non-predators. Only guards should be patrolling the building.

He opened the door fully and quietly walked into the office. He crouched behind one of the desks. It was rather large, clearly made for a larger mammal. There was a computer that sat atop the desk, quietly humming and whirring. Through the dim light of the screensaver, he could make out a framed photo of a male deer and – presumably – his children. They were out by a mountain, probably somewhere up north.

Ben looked away and started down the rows of cubicles. It was strange to think of the prey in Animalia as people that had lives. They were practically an occupied group – oppressed, suppressed, and ignored, but they lived their own lives in their own little bubbles.

It was something to consider, at the very least. To use a word the Animalian government had long banned, the idea _humanized_ them.

He continued at a snail's pace down the office. As he approached the door, he could make out the faint sounds of voices. He peered through a window in the door. The hallway itself was empty. A little ways down the hall, Ben could make out flashing colors and lights behind a window in a door. He wasn't alone here.

Ben glanced back at his wrist. Down the hall and through the maintenance rooms – he would have to discreetly pass the office throwing what looked like a mini-rave.

He silently opened the door and stepped into the hall. It was dark, the only light coming through a window on the opposite end of the hallway. Through the window, he could make out the tops of skyscrapers and buildings.

As he drew closer to the room with all the activity, he crouched to the cold floor and leaned against the wall. Carefully and quietly, he crept along it, eventually passing the door in question. He could hear voices chanting and shouting in there. There was, if he recalled correctly, a game on up in Sahara Square tonight. He really didn't care.

It was a stupid game.

After passing the door, he began to walk more quickly. He still clung to the wall, eventually ending up beside the door to the maintenance rooms. He placed his ear against the door, his hand on the handle. There didn't seem to be any activity going on. He slowly opened the old, steel door, careful not to make a sound.

After successfully opening the door, he entered the maintenance room. He left the door slightly open – a quick path for any potential escape. Something always went wrong.

Using his night-vision helmet, he navigated around the cramped room. It was stuffed with brooms, mops and old buckets of water. Algae and grime lined the cabinets and shelves, both loaded with aging cleaning supplies and wipes.

On the other end of the room was a door. He made his way towards it, still somewhat cautious. He stood up and opened the door, revealing the server room.

It was cold, for one. Massive fans placed along the ceiling, coupled with power air conditioning units dropped the temperature to practically zero degrees. The room was large too, far wider and longer than the office he had made his way through. Anywhere from thirty to forty servers and data-banks lined the room, their green and red lights flashing periodically and sometimes in unison. Only the lights illuminated the dim room.

He looked around for a moment before quickly going towards the central computer. He reached into his pack, unveiling a large, black data drive. He plugged it into the computer. The files began to copy automatically, thanks to Harper back at the base. He would have to thank he later.

The file copying was almost instant. The script on the drive searched for only the most relevant files, copying only a few megabytes worth of information as opposed to several petabytes. Ben had no idea as to how Harper managed to make it work, but she did. She always came through in that sort of way.

He let out a slight sigh as he unplugged the drive. Now, he just had to escape.

* * *

The lights were out and the moon hung in the sky, but Judy remained awake under her covers. The entire complex was cut off. Past the early evening, no one could have electricity or water. The rocking of the bed upstairs had stopped a half-hour ago. Their moans had echoed throughout the entire building. They did that every night. Sometimes, she managed to fall asleep during the whole thing. Other times, she wouldn't be able to sleep at all.

This was one of those other times.

She glanced at the flash drive sitting atop her desk. She could only make out its outline in the darkness.

She kept replaying what had happened in the office over and over again in her head. Mimi had slipped the drive, presumably a copy of what the military had confiscated earlier, to her. Judy lied back in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. " _But why me?"_

Judy had remembered Mimi's words fairly clearly – she was the only one Mimi could trust with the drive. What made her the ideal candidate? What made the rest of her coworkers less trustworthy? These questions continued to bounce around in her head.

 _Bang, bang, bang_.

A fist pounded against the door somewhere down the hall. Still lying down, her ears perked up and her eyes opened some.

 _Bang, bang, bang_.

She heard a voice – muffled behind the wall, but distinctly one of a soldier. "ZDF! Open up!"

Her heart stopped for a moment. She heard more boots shuffle down the weathered floorboard. More pounding could be heard throughout the hall. There must have been six or seven soldiers, all armed, going from door-to-door. She heard a pair of boots continue down the hall – continue towards her.

Judy snapped into action, quickly hopping out of her bed. Her heart was racing. It was dark, but the pale moonlight guided her actions. She grabbed the flash drive and the data it held within, stuffing it into her shirt. Her movements were short and jumpy. She slipped on her shoes and pulled her desk drawer open.

There was a loud rapping on her door. It stopped. "I think this is the one..." she heard someone murmur.

Judy froze for a moment. She quickly dug into the drawer, brandishing a can of predator repellent – it was illegal to possess, but her parents had passed it to her anyways. She quickly popped the cap off and spun the nozzle around, building pressure inside of the can.

Someone pounded on the door again. The entirety of her small room jolted. When she looked over, she saw loose dust falling from the hinges – they were trying to beat it down.

She tossed the can at the base of the door as she sprinted towards the window, holding a pair of dulled scissors. She pushed the glass open and slashed at the screen. The coldness of the air outside hit her like a truck. She felt all of her furs stand up.

Judy stole a glance behind her. The door flew open. There was a silhouette of a red fox standing in the doorway, his body covered in military gear and carrying a rifle, ready in his arms. Their eyes met for the shortest, briefest of moments. Judy saw fear in his eyes. She expected that he saw the same.

The can of repellent exploded into a cloud of chemicals, knocking the fox to the ground as the fumes filled the room. Judy looked back at the open air in front of her. She could hear more soldiers coming down the hall – it was only a matter of time until they arrived.

She had a choice. Was this worth it?

Time seemed to slow down for a moment. If she continued, she was actively putting herself and possibly her family in grave danger. She would be effectively giving her life up – her job, her coworkers, her friends and family.

On the other hand, turning herself in what certainly result in her lifetime imprisonment, if not public execution. It would also render Mimi's sacrifice worthless.

That was strange – considering Mimi's imprisonment a sacrifice. Just a few days ago, she considered the Resistance an aimless, murderous, terrorist faction. They were fighting for something – in a few short days, Mimi would give up her life for that.

She experienced a sense of clarity as the shouting in the hallway grew louder and louder. The choice seemed easy.

Judy jumped.


	3. (03) The First Culling

**The First Culling**

 _Fourteen Years Ago_

Her father let out a shaky breath as a chill ran down her spine. The house began to shake – the entire land quaking at the arrival of the soldiers. Picture frames vibrated on the mantle and the glassware rattled in the kitchen. They heard a book fall somewhere in the house as the trembling continued.

Nine year-old Judy Hopps froze in place. The house was silent – all she could hear was the distant sound of engines. She glanced into the kitchen where she saw her mother. She stood still, wiping a plate with a cloth. There were tears in her eyes.

Her father looked at her. "Go upstairs and tell your siblings to hide with you in the basement. Your mom and I will stay up here and wait things out."

Judy quickly nodded before darting upstairs. She stopped when she arrived on the second floor. What was she to tell them?

She was the eldest child of her nine siblings. Sara was just a year younger than her, the rest were either four or six, depending on their litter. Judy was responsible for their safety, now more than ever.

It had been a subject of conversation until quite recently. She heard her parents quietly discuss it a few times between themselves. On those hot, starry nights in the country, they'd sit out on the porch, watching the moon rise and listening to the crickets. Judy once overheard them talking about an event – The Culling.

She hadn't overheard the details of thing, just that the military might come and do something one day. She had once tried to find the definition of 'culling' at the library, only to be barred completely – prey could not use a dictionary.

Her parents had remained awfully quiet these past few days. They rarely talked at all during the day. In her bed, Judy could hear their muffled conversations downstairs. She once heard her mother break down into tears.

Judy laid awake that whole night.

Now, she was to do as her father said. She pushed open a door, revealing three of her sisters. All of them were four. They must have been playing with a toy castle. They set down the figurines and looked at her. Judy spoke up. "Mom and Dad want us to go down, into the basement."

They continued to stare.

Judy became angry. "Well, get a move on!"

She moved out of the way as her siblings – Ana, Kirsten, and Mary hurried out of the room and into the hall. As she moved on to the next door, she heard their feet shuffle down the stairway. Judy pushed open the second door.

Four of her brothers and her sister were in the room. All five of them stared out of their window, paying little attention to Judy. "Guys," Judy whispered. "guys."

They all turned to look at Judy. They were older than her other sisters – all of them turning seven later this year. Judy shook her head and looked at the floor. "Y'all need to come on down and get in the basement. Mom and Dad said."

They all stood up and started towards the door except for her brother, Cameron. He sat on his bunk bed, continuing to stare outside.

"Cam!" Judy whispered. "Cam, you need to get on down there!"

He didn't respond. Cameron continued to stare outside. Frustrated, Judy huffed and walked over to him. "Cam, we need to go."

"Look," Cam said, pointing outside. Judy slowly shifted her eyes towards what he was pointing at.

There was a convoy of military vehicles – about ten of them, driving down a road in the distance. They kicked up the dry dirt behind them, leaving a streak of dust down the countryside. Several miles out, she could make out wisps of smoke climbing into the sky. Helicopters – appearing as little more than circling, black dots from here, hovered around.

She looked back at the convoy. They were still some distance away, perhaps two or three miles. Two sleek, black, SUVs led the way, followed by several military vehicles. Behind them were two tanks, both traveling their absolute fastest. She hadn't imagined them being able to travel that quickly.

About half of the vehicles peeled off of the main road, heading towards the smoke. Shortly afterwards, the rest of the vehicles made a sharp turn towards their house.

They were coming here.

Judy swallowed. "Get down into the basement."

Cam looked up at his sister, his eyes pleading.

Judy shook her head and raised her voice. "Get down now!"

Her father suddenly burst into the room. He grabbed both of them by the arms and pulled them out of the room. His grip was strong, but Judy noticed his paws were trembling. "Get away from the windows."

"Dad, I saw..." Judy started.

"I know, baby, I know." her father said in response. "Cam, you get down into the basement, you hear me? Go on down and stay down there."

Cam quickly nodded before dashing towards the basement. They could hear his rapid steps down the stairs and into the living room. Stu looked back at Judy. There were tears in her eyes. She finally let it out. "Daddy, what's goin' on?"

He sighed, trying to figure out what exactly to say. "Some very bad people are coming. I saw the trucks an' all too. They're gonna want to divide us, they're gonna want to split us up, but guess what?"

Through tears, Judy was barely able to whisper. "What?"

"They won't." her father said. There was a kind of assurance, confidence, in his voice. "We'll always, and I mean always, have each other. You got that? We'll always be a family, no matter what happens, alright?"

Judy nodded.

Her father wiped away one of her tears with his thumb. "Now, what I need you to do is go into the basement and stay completely, absolutely silent, you hear me? If even one peep comes from y'all, some very bad things might happen."

He managed to smile. "Mom and I are gonna situate some things up here. You've got this. We trust you."

* * *

It was only ten minutes before Judy heard the front door open. The floorboards shuddered as air was let into the house. She heard a door slam shut in the back of the house – it always did that when someone opened the front door.

Judy was perched atop a crate of grain, her ear pressed against the bottom of the floorboard. All of her siblings surrounded her in the basement. They mostly sat in the far corner, the furthest point from the basement door. Sara sat just beside Judy. Everyone was silent – no one dared to say a word.

She looked around the basement for a second. It was warm. There was a gas lantern in the corner of the room, providing some light. It cast their shadows all around the room, flickering with the gas. The whole area was more of a storage shed than a basement or storm shelter – sacks of grain and boxes of farm equipment rested against the bare planks of wood keeping the structure together. She could see the dirt and dust between the planks.

The basement was also cramped. The ceiling was no more than four or five feet above the ground – a perfect size for one or two rabbits, not ten children.

Through the spaces between the old, rotting floorboards, Judy could make out the underside of the kitchen table. The basement had been dug directly under the dining room – it was the most secure part of the house in the event of a storm.

Judy heard her father. She could barely see the corner of his ear in the hallway. His words were slow and stern. "What are you doing here?"

There was another voice. She couldn't see who was speaking, but it sounded like a female wolf. It was smooth, yet gravelly. She couldn't quite explain it. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

Stu glanced at the table. Even if the wolf looked closely, he would have a hard time noticing his children. He looked back at the wolf. "Sure."

The wolf pulled out a chair and sat down – it was Stu's chair. She was slightly too big for the chair, but she sat down anyways. She took out a handkerchief and dabbed her snout for a moment before placing it back in her pocket and grinning. "So, how are you?"

"Not bad." Stu said. He looked over the wolf's uniform. It was different from most soldiers – there was no real protective gear, instead she wore a clean, gray, neatly-patted uniform. Her gray coat of fur was sometimes indiscernible from it. She didn't wear a helmet either. The wolf was probably an officer.

The wolf chuckled for a moment. "I'm so sorry, you're probably wondering what to say. My name is Elizabeth Clawthorn."

"Didn't know they were letting women wolves be officers." Stu said. "Must be dire times for the predator population, declining births and all."

She smiled for a moment before firing back a response. "Because the Burrows are the most forward-thinking, huh, Stu Hopps?"

He froze for a second. This wasn't a random stop – this was entirely planned. He swallowed.

"And, if I do remember correctly, your wife is Bonnie Hopps?" she asked.

"Yeah, she's my wife." Stu said.

Elizabeth seemed to be waiting for an answer. "So, where is she?"

Stu shook his head for a moment. "She's upstairs. I kind bring her down, if you want."

"Actually, I'm quite content with how I am, thank you." Elizabeth said. "And, according to your file, you do have, what, nine, ten children?"

Stu continued to stand. "We don't have any children here."

"You're saying the file is wrong?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth sighed for a moment. She glanced around the room for moment. "Alright, I'll buy that. Of course, the chance of a mistake appearing on a citizen's file is extremely low, especially since the computers have been double-checking for these kinds of errors for the better part of the year."

"I don't know what to tell you." Stu said. "Your file's wrong."

"Alright." Elizabeth agreed. She grinned again before taking a breath. "Stu Hopps, are you aware of _The Culling_?"

Stu shrugged. "Who isn't? Up until the past week or so, talking heads have been yappin' on the TV, been tellin' us for a month now."

"Good, good." Elizabeth said, nodding. "They probably told you about it, but they didn't say why, did they?"

Stu thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think so."

Elizabeth smirked. "So, let me explain, and get your wife down here."

"Why?"

"She needs to know." she said. "There are rebel factions out there – they've been giving out false and skewed information. I'd rather you and her hear it from us directly, 'cause you know those rebels. She doesn't have to say anything, you guys just have to listen."

Stu hesitated for a moment. The wolf wasn't trustworthy – that was obvious. Still, she seemed to buy his story about the kids. At this point, it'd be better to play along and get them out of the house as soon as possible. He finally caved in. "Bonnie!"

The two waited for a moment. They heard footsteps above them and in the hall before she appeared in the stairway. Her eyes were red and her ears were drooped. "What is it?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Come on over, I want to have a talk with all _y'all_."

Bonnie looked at Stu, as if asking for confirmation. He nodded slightly. Bonnie continued down the stairs and stood beside her husband.

Elizabeth looked at the two for a moment before speaking. "This is weird. Can you guys take a seat with me? Table's big enough for all of us."

They both glanced at each other before sitting down at the table. Judy heard the floorboards crack a little, opening a stream of dust visible in the lantern's light. She cupped her paws around her mouth to keep quiet.

Stu stared into Elizabeth's eyes. She stared right back with that sly, satisfied smile. "Now, I'm sure you've heard, the humans are having a bit of a tussle across the strait. They ran out of food. Now, this would normally be the perfect opportunity to intervene and even, potentially, annex their continent, but we find ourselves a little out-matched and out-gunned."

Stu and Bonnie remained silent. Elizabeth shook her head. "For being country folk, y'all really are a stiff bunch."

She sighed before resting her arm on the table. "Listen, I'm gonna give it to you straight – we need to protect and maintain the sovereignty of our great nation and secure the continued existence of the Supreme Leader. What we are doing is a defensive measure."

An silence hung in the air as Elizabeth peered outside for a moment. She returned to Stu and Bonnie. "Now, one of the driving issues in our nation is overpopulation – after all, half of the Humans want to invade and eat us. We have a population problem."

"Our resources and supplies are spread thinly across seven hundred million mammals, the vast majority of which are prey." Elizabeth continued. "So, the stem of this issue is fairly evident. Supreme Leader had an idea – one in ten prey mammals are born with defects and irregularities. Remove them from the equation and, not only are you controlling the booming population, you strengthen the genetic foundation of our species."

Stu finally spoke up. His voice was controlled, but serious. "So you think genocide is the answer?"

Elizabeth smirked and leaned in closer. "Yes, I know it is. And it is coming, whether you like it or not."

She then leaned back in her chair some. Stu and Bonnie watched as her eyes slowly move around the room. She peered into the kitchen for a moment before looking back at them. "You know, as I was talking, I couldn't help but notice how big and roomy this house is."

Stu's heart jumped. He maintained a stony face. "That's how they built them back in the day."

"That is true, but," Elizabeth continued. "while shitty, of course, this house is fairly new. Modern wiring, good insulation. Plus, your records indicate this house was built a little over a decade ago."

"Plus," she said. She tapped her boot on the floor. It made a loud, hollow sound. "there seems to be a basement in there."

Bonnie grip on Stu's paw tightened. He swallowed.

Elizabeth smirked. "It's almost as if you were lying about the kid thing."

Stu shot up from his seat. Elizabeth instinctively drew a pistol from her holster and pointed it at the couple. Stu froze as he stared down the muzzle. Elizabeth clicked her tongue. "You take one step towards me, and blow you, your wife, and your ten children in the basement to pieces. Sit down."

Stu cautiously sat down. Bonnie's face was becoming red. Elizabeth made a gesture with her free paw, signaling the soldiers that had been waiting outside. They filed into the house one be one. The small unit of three was composed of an assortment of predators – a bear, a coyote, and a leopard. All were armed, each wearing thick, modern body armor. Stu shook his head. He began to shout. "I've told you, there's no one here!"

"Where is the basement door?"

"There is no basement!"

Elizabeth fired a gun at the floor. Judy ducked as the bullet tore through a floorboard, striking a bale of hay near the center of the room. Her heart began to race as her siblings backed away from the hay bale. Elizabeth continued shouting. "Where!"

Stu struggled to speak. Elizabeth kept pressing. "I'm going to continue shooting through the floor until you tell me where the basement door is. Sooner or later, I've gotta hit something."

Stu let out a pained breath. He glanced at Bonnie for a moment before answering to the wolf. "Down that hall, first door on the right.

"See?" Elizabeth said, easing up. The soldiers stormed down the hallway before easily breaking through the door. "Simple as that."

Stu's breaths were long and heavy. The three waited patiently for a minute. Shrieking and screaming came from the floorboards. The soldiers soon emerged, corralling ten bunny children.

"Oh, God." Bonnie whimpered as they walked the children down the hall and into the dining room. One of the soldiers had his rifle trained on them at all times. One of them seemed to come up to Elizabeth. She thought for a moment. "Uh, against that wall there. Line 'em all up."

The soldiers quickly lined up the children against the wall in no particular order. Bonnie and Stu watched on helplessly. Judy noticed tears forming in her father's eyes – he never cried.

"Stu Hopps," Elizabeth said. "do you remember August fourth, way back in the Bloody Summer?"

"Please, don't do this." Stu pleaded, his throat tight. "They're just kids. They had no part in that."

"You covered your tracks pretty well, back when you and your gang firebombed that car." Elizabeth continued, ignoring him. "It's been, what, thirty years? We already had caught your little posse a few decades back – now we finally have you."

"Please."

Elizabeth stood up. She began pacing in circles. "We thought of executing your down in The Square, but even then, you'd die with dignity. No bunny should die with dignity, former Resistance members especially."

She paused and looked in Stu's teary eye. She smiled. "But, we do, after all, have to punish you in some way."

She looked at the children, all lined up against the wall. Most of them were less than half her height. They were all speechless. Elizabeth continued. "There's an element of _The Culling_ that I forgot to mention – we're now introducing a strict one-child policy."

"It wasn't retroactive, of course, but..." she said, crouching down a little until was whispering directly into his ear. "there are always _exceptions_."

"Please," Stu pleaded. Bonnie cried into her paws. "I'm begging you. Take me, all the way to the city or Sahara or whatever. You can do whatever you want, just don't make them pay."

Elizabeth pulled out and backed away from the table. Her eyes looked over the children for a moment before finally landing on the eldest- Judy. "Her, she's safe. Go on over with your Mom and Pops."

Tears formed in Judy's eyes. She looked to her side. Sara stood there, blinking rapidly. Her younger siblings didn't even seem to know what was going on. She looked at the wolf. Elizabeth smiled. "Come on, kiddo."

Judy slowly walked towards her parents. She took a seat beside them, turning it so she faced her siblings.

The wolf smiled again before backing up some. She directed the soldiers. "Arnold, Joe, keep and eye on them. Jesse, you know what to do."

Judy watched as two of the soldiers pointed their weapons at Stu and Bonnie. "You don't move 'til we leave."

"Please, don't do this!" Stu said. The remaining soldier assumed a firing position in front of Judy's siblings. They were all locking hands. Only then did Sara seem to fully grasp what was going on."

"Their blood, your blood, will be on your hands Stu." Elizabeth said as Stu continued pleading. She turned back to the soldier. "Fire at will."

Jesse nodded. Sara let out a cry for help. "Daddy, _please_!"

The room erupted into automatic gunfire. Bonnie's screams and Stu's cries were drowned out by the rapid gunshots. Blood exploded all over the wall and carpet. Judy shut her teary eyes and covered her ears. Stu cried with Bonnie, her head sinking into his chest as tears rolled down the side of his face. Elizabeth stood still, unflinching as the bullets tore through the young children. Smoke poured from the rifle barrel and into the room. The smell of gunpowder burned their nostrils.

The shooting finally stopped. Bonnie let out a bloodcurdling cry as she crumpled to the floor. Stu soon followed her. Judy remained frozen, shocked and unwilling to look.

"My babies!" Bonnie cried. She dropped to her knees "You fucking animal!"

Stu cradled Cam's body in his arms. The child's head hung low and his legs were limp. Blood came from his chest and arm. Stu rocked back and forth, crying. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Elizabeth stood there. She gestured to her unit, prompting them to shuffle out of the household. "Let this be a reminder, Stu. This is on your hands."

* * *

 _Present Day_

Without an lights, the alleyway was almost pitch black. Puddles of water were scattered across the old, cracking, black pavement. The smell, however, was worse. She recoiled in disgust as she continued down the narrow gap between apartment towers. Trash bags lined the crumbling brick walls. The bags were often cut open, spilling garbage and waste into the alley.

Judy gradually came to a stop as she rested against a green dumpster. It covered in grime. She quickly pulled her hands from the cold, wet metal, instead choosing to lean against the brick. It seemed to crumble upon her touching it. Her breathing was hard and fast.

There was a pain in her leg – she wasn't quite sure where. After she made the jump from her floor, she quickly dropped down a series of rails and tiny balconies. She must have hurt her leg during the final jump to the sidewalk. Only now she really feeling it.

Her heart pounded as she began to regain her breath. She glanced to the start of the alley. She could barely make out the road behind the clouds of mist, the lights from the streets just barely piercing through. She felt her body tense up as she heard a car pass by.

Judy quickly recalled everything that had happened. After dangerously scaling down the side of the apartment building, she darted down the sidewalk. The streets were almost entirely empty, but the soldiers weren't able to get down in time. She sprinted for several blocks before eventually turning into this random alleyway.

She sighed. They were almost certainly searching for her, going block-by-block, street-by-street. It was only a matter of time until they eventually would catch up with her. She had to leave the city as soon as possible, as while not attracting too much attention.

She shivered in the cold. She was wearing nothing but a thin, gray T-shirt and sleep bottoms – hardly suitable as winter clothing. In a crowd, she would stick out like a sore thumb. She swallowed before rubbing her leg again. Her bottoms were wet from running through the puddles. Her hocks were sore and red with pain. What she need was a shelter – a warm place to stay, at least for the night.

But where could she go?

Judy thought about it for a moment. Her friends from work were too far, at least too far of a distance to make on foot overnight. She find a kitchen and try to blend in, but the cameras would spot her immediately.

The cameras were virtually everywhere. They were in every house, they lined every street and avenue – some were even in the bushes, disguised as flowers or plants, and some were in the air, on the bottoms of planes or disguised as birds. There was almost certainly footage of her entering the alley. The only thing limiting the soldiers was accessing the captured footage in time. They could be reviewing it this very moment.

She couldn't completely trust her friends either. They could easily turn her in and be rewarded for the act – it had happened to some before. There was a reason Mimi trusted her the most, as opposed to the rest of her coworkers.

Judy froze for a second. " _The flash drive."_

She quickly dug into her shirt. It wasn't there. She checked around her bottoms. She found it sandwiched between her fur and her panty. It had probably slipped down there during her sprint. She fished it out and grasped it within her paw. Whatever was on there had to be worth it.

Her ear perked up. She looked around for a moment. It sounded like a vehicle had stopped somewhere in the distance. It was too dark for her to see anything.

The alleyway was suddenly flooded with light. Judy blocked it with her hand and squinted. There were two headlights down the alley, where the street began. Everything, every pebble, every piece of trash, every groove and indentation in the bricks cast a long shadow down the alley.

They had found her.

Judy quickly grabbed the flash drive from the ground and scrambled to her feet. She heard the vehicle's engine rumble before driving forward.

She snapped around and sprinted down the alley, away from the moving vehicle. She had a slight limp in her gait as she tore towards the opposite end. The sound of the vehicle echoed throughout the tall walls of the alley. Judy felt the ground vibrate beneath her. Trash bags were shaken off the tops of dumpsters and cans rolled around on the pavement.

Her shadow grew larger and larger as the vehicle approached. Judy glanced behind herself. The vehicle was, fairly clearly, an armored truck – evidently military.

As she looked back ahead, she felt her foot ram into a stray brick in the middle of the path. She tumbled to the pavement, the flash drive secure in her palm. "Fuckin'..." she muttered, slowly standing back up.

She looked back again. The truck was quickly catching up. She tried to run, but the pain in her hock was too great. She couldn't outrun the vehicle – not like this.

She noticed a door just a little ways ahead. She hadn't been able to see it in the darkness earlier. She gritted her teeth as she mustered through the pain, limping towards the door.

Judy glanced behind her again. The truck accelerated. She turned back and limped faster towards the door. She almost tripped again as she approached the door. She looked back one final time before pushing the door open.

She entered the building, quickly slamming the door behind her. She fell back to the floor – cold, gray tile – panting and breathing quickly. She gripped her hock for a moment and winced. It was wet and throbbing. She must have messed up her ankle or broke a bone.

She looked back at the door and smiled a little. She was lucky it was unlocked.

She heard the muffled sound of the truck driving by. The sound continued down the alley until stopping. The engine ran idly. She heard several car doors open and shut. They would storm the building if they had to.

Judy slowly got to her feet. She use the wall to regain her balance. She quickly examined her surroundings. She was in some kind of kitchen, not unlike the one in her apartment building. She thought for a moment. " _Well, my old apartment building."_

The floor was covered in white, cracked tile, stained and worn from years of use. The room was lined with rusted ovens and shambling carts. There were boxes of dried food left out in the corner of the room. Pots and pans hung from racks installed in the ceiling. The only illumination in the room was from a few dim, blue lights embedded in a refrigerator, casting the whole room in blue.

Judy limped down the kitchen and through a door, entering the cafeteria. The layout here was identical to her old cafeteria. She continued down the cold, hardwood floor and towards the stairs. Clutching her leg, she let out a little sigh she walked upwards. The carpet felt nice against her sore, bare hocks.

She heard the door into the kitchen open and close. She looked back for a moment. Flashlights danced all over the floor and walls. There were three soldiers, each slowly and tactically making their way through the kitchen. All of them were heavily armed.

She turned away and continued up the stairs until one of them spoke. His voice was loud and booming, echoing through the cafeteria. "Hopps! You're surrounded. If you don't willingly surrender, we _will_ kill you."

Judy remained frozen for a moment. She heard the sounds of their boots growing closer.

"Come on out, little rabbit." another one of them said. His voice was in a sing-song tone. "We want to play."

Judy quickly started back up the stairs. She mustered through the throbbing pain as she slowly ascended the building. Not long after, Judy heard the sound of footsteps below her. They were catching up.

She used the cracked, peeling surfaces of the walls to guide her in the darkness. There were ten flights of stairs in the building – she estimated she was nearing the top.

As she reached the top floor, she paused for a brief moment. She peered down the stairwell. Flashlights bobbed up and down, back and forth beneath her. Judy quickly snapped around. Where could she go next?

Most buildings did have, typically, an emergency exit to the roof. She struggled to recall as to whether or not her apartment had the same.

The footsteps were rapidly approaching. She thought for a moment before breaking into a sprint towards a door on the far end of the hall. She let out a breath and glanced behind her again. The footsteps grew nearer.

She pressed all of her weight against the door. It was heavy – clearly not designed for a bunny in mind. She continued pushing, her teeth gritted and grunting. She heard a voice behind her. "There she is!"

The door gave way, causing Judy to tumble out onto the roof. The cold hit her instantly as she struggled to get to her feet. There was another set of stairs in front of her, turning and leading to the main roof. Using all the strength she had, she managed to stand to her feet. A splitting pain ran down her leg. It was probably fractured.

She limped up the stairs and onto the rest of the roof. She quickly took cover behind an old air-conditioning unit, sitting against it. Her heart jumped as she heard the soldiers push the door open. "Fuck, it's freezing."

She could make out their shadows in the pale moonlight. They cautiously made their way up the stairs, their weapons at the ready. "Come on out, bunny. You can't hide out forever, you know!"

Judy let out a pained breath as she caressed her leg. There was no place to run – nowhere to go. This could be it.

Her thoughts began to change. What would her parents think? Their last, remaining child, executed in The Square at midnight after being caught in a foot-chase on a particularly cold night. They would have no one left but themselves.

She looked out at the city. It was beautiful tonight. The sky was, for once, somewhat clear. She could make out the towering buildings downtown and their bright lights. They seemed to twinkle from here.

Her ear shot up as she heard something zip across the sky. There was clang somewhere around the edge of the roof. Even the soldiers seemed confused. "What the hell was that?"

Suppressed gunfire erupted on the roof. Judy heard a soldier scream for a brief moment before ending abruptly. Judy's breathing began to slow. She couldn't hear any footsteps. She peered around the corner of the A/C unit.

There were three bodies – a fox, a panther, and a wolf – all of them crumpled and lifeless on the ground. Their blood poured out, soaking their clothing and the gravel with blood. Their eyes were half-open, dead and unmoving.

A creature stepped into the picture, standing over the bodies. It was tall, taller than even the panther. It stood on two long legs. It was tall – easily four or five times her height. Its arms came down to its waist. It held a rifle in one arm – a kind she hadn't seen before. Its body was covered in black military gear and armor, blending in with the night, and two objects protruded from its headwear.

Judy snapped back into cover. It was a Human.

She heard a voice. It was a male and it spoke her language. "You can come out now, you know. I'm here."

Judy hesitated. She had no reason to trust him.

The Human let out a sigh. There was a hint of exasperation in his words. "Come on out, we don't have all night."

She slowly stood up from behind the A/C unit. The cold, freezing wind was blowing hard now. She shivered as she stepped into the open. All of her fur stood on edge beneath her thin shirt. The Human was still. She finally spoke up. "Who are you?"

"I can't tell you right now," the Human answered. "but I know you're Judith Hopps. I'm from across the strait."

She paused for a moment. "How do you know my name?" Judy questioned, standing her ground.

The Human looked down and chuckled. He pulled up his goggles to his forehead, revealing his eyes. They were blue and seemed to sparkle in the pale moonlight. "Come with me, I'll tell you on the way."


	4. (04) Nowhere to Run

**Nowhere to Run**

Rain pattered softly on the glass. It was cold and cracked, weathered from years of wear. There was some mold growing around its edges along the windowsill. Behind it, he could see the city. It was gleaming – patterns of lights ran up and down the streets. The light was a little blurred and distorted through the window and the rain. Still, it was a sight.

Nick shifted his head a little. The downtown area looked so close from here. The buildings and skyscrapers looked thicker in person than they did in the photos – he felt they didn't do the city justice.

Still, he couldn't help but notice the blackness that surrounded the city. A mandatory curfew had been placed in many areas. The darkness behind and around the encircling the downtown area painted a different picture. What should have been a bright, gleaming metropolis more closely resembled a lone, flickering torch in the deepest, darkest cavern.

Nick looked back up at the ceiling. He must have stared at it for hours earlier – the grid-like pattern had been seared into his mind. He looked around his room again.

He was lying in a hospital bed. The room was sterile and clean – unlike much of the prey hospitals he had visited over the years. The light blue walls looked as though they had been painted fairly recently. This looked like a respectable, upstanding place to work.

Medical equipment surrounded his bed, most of it unnecessary. His pulse was stable, his breathing was fine – he didn't need it. There was a clear IV bag perched atop a rack, but it wasn't connected to him. There was no reason for him to be here – he just liked the warmth.

He glanced at a clock in the corner of the room. It was about three o'clock in the morning. The sun would be rising fairly soon. He'd probably have to take tomorrow off – just to catch up on some sleep.

Nick sighed before shaking his head slightly. He again tried to piece together what exactly had happened at the apartment.

The lady – the sheep they took in at the office was, in fact, a member of The Resistance. He himself had little part in the operation, but his superior did. He had organized the entire thing. Apparently, the whole ordeal went down without any real incident. There was no fighting, not much arguing. It was a textbook capture.

When reviewing the camera footage inside the office, it became fairly clear that the sheep knew she was going to get caught soon. They weren't sure how she had any kind of prior knowledge of the incident – perhaps there was a mole in the department? Still, that was another discussion entirely.

Upon inspection, it was apparent that she had given a copy of the data – all stored on a flash drive – to the office secretary, a bunny by the name of Judith Hopps. The data was out there somewhere, and they had to find it.

That was where he came in. Nick smirked slightly.

They had tracked her down to her apartment, out in The Bricks. The manager didn't have her exact room number, but he had her floor. It was a start.

Something was strange about that bunny – Judy, as everyone called her – from the start. He swore he had seen her walking away during the execution – he'd recognize those eyes anywhere. Regardless, she had an interesting, odd history.

She didn't have a single violation – _ever_.

That in and of itself was something of interest. Being prey, she never had direct access to her own file, so she couldn't have edited it. Of course, she could be good friends someone working with Records, but even that was unlikely, mostly because she wasn't very social. She had grown up out in the Burrows, right in the middle of all of tough times there. Almost her entire family had been killed in front of her eyes. She had a few friends through work, but she hardly spent any extracurricular time with them.

Furthermore, she also had _zero_ connections to The Resistance, at least apart from accepting the data the sheep had stolen.

But, as strange as her records were, they didn't really matter. Maybe she was just _that_ good. Still, they weren't the typical records they'd find of a potential Resistance member.

Regardless, he and the rest of the unit stormed the floor, going door-to-door. The power in the building was out, so they couldn't use the cameras to locate her. He had chosen the second-to-last door in the hall and managed to open it.

She was standing on the windowsill, just inches away from him and death. She turned around and stared at him. She must have looked into his eyes for less than a second, but it seemed like an eternity. _That's_ how he recalled the eyes from the execution the other night.

Some bomb – a kind of pressurized chemical canister, long banned – exploded at his feet. The force knocked him to the ground, but the gas made his vision blurry and senses numb. Before long, he woke up here, at Irving Predator Medical, drowsy, but alive.

Apparently, she had jumped from the window. She scampered down and onto the streets below. Nick sighed and rubbed his head. He had her, right there, practically fitted in his jaws, but he didn't bite. He stood there, frozen and staring like an idiot, all while she made her escape.

He should have just shot Judy Hopps on-sight. But, it was too late for that, unfortunately.

The rest of the night had been a blur. An ambulance trip to the Emergency Room, a few hours under sedatives, and here he was, perfectly fine.

As he rubbed his eye, the door in the side of the room opened. There was nurse there – a silver fox – wheeling a cart into the room. There was his uniform in it, sealed in an airtight plastic bag. She smiled when she saw him. "How's it going, officer Nick?"

"Officer?" Nick asked, his voice somewhat smug. "People still say that?"

"Well, Wolfram wants us to say 'peacekeeper' now, but I don't really like that." she said. She thought for a moment before clarifying. "Not that it's not true, of course, but it just doesn't sound well."

Nick lied back again. "Yeah, I don't like it either."

The silver fox smiled again before finally setting the cart by his bed. "Well, there's your uniform and all that. The doctors said you should be fine."

Nick smiled. He picked up his pin and thumbed it. It was cold against his fur. "Thanks."

"Anytime, _Peacekeeper Wilde_." she said, smirking. She was out for a moment before she stepped back in. She drew in a breath. "Uh, the rain out there's a little acidic, just so you know. You might want to stay here for a while, at least 'til the morning."

"Acidic, huh?" Nick asked, glancing outside. He sighed and shook his head. "All the preys' camps out east, with the plumes and shit."

The nurse nodded in agreement. "I hope they get the military out east and finally take them out. The executions are nice and good at sending a message and all, but believe me, the place was a _total_ cesspool. That's where all the bombings and shootings come from – there's no rules there."

She shook her head for a moment. "Sorry about that, went on for a tangent there. Good night."

Nick smiled. "Good night."

He let out a heavy breath as his eyes shifted towards the uniform. It was neatly folded – crisp and sealed in an airtight bag. Nick held the pin in his paw, slowly passing it between his fingers.

He shook his head. He didn't want to think about that.

As he set the pin back on the metal cart, the door opened again. A wolf walked through the door. He was in a more ornate, gray uniform. Several colored pins lined his vest – an indicator of experience and rank. He wore a dark gray field cap on his head, the metallic Mammalian insignia pinned to it.

His superior: General Jason Clawthorn.

Nick instantly snapped to his feet, still wearing the hospital gown. "Commander!"

Jason looked over him for a moment. Nick maintained eye contact. He was an older wolf – his fur was becoming more ruffled and patchy. A long scar ran across part of his face. The wolf finally decided. "At ease."

Nick sat back down on the hospital bed. He thought for a second before waving, showing the clips around his paws. "How was your evening?"

"Better than yours, it seems." Jason replied. He removed his cap before sitting down where the nurse would sit. He leaned back in the chair, rocking it back and forth with his foot. A silence hung in the air between them, neither wanting to break it.

Nick finally spoke. "Did you get the bunny?"

Jason closed his eyes, shaking his head. "One of our units found her, scampering and grovelling around an alleyway. They went in without backup, chased her into an apartment complex."

"What happened?"

Jason shook his head again. "We don't know. We found their bodies – three of them – on the roof of the complex. They had all been shot to death. Ballistics is still working on an I.D."

Nick thought for a second. He too shook his head. "I don't think that bunny can operate _anything_ that can take down three armed, protected soldiers. It just doesn't add up."

"I was thinking the same thing." Jason said. "I managed to get my hands on one of the shells," he continued, digging into his pocket. He pulled out a spent casing. It was large – the bullet must have come from some automatic assault rifle. "Military-grade. We don't manufacture it here – we don't have the plants to produce this particular alloy. At least, that's what they said."

Nick realized what Jason was getting at. He swallowed and looked him in the eye. "You think its the Humans?"

Jason shrugged. "I can't be sure. Some Resistance member could have just gotten their hands on some of their munitions. The Humans could also be arming them, but that'd be difficult to do, at least here, in the city."

Nick relaxed back on his bed. He stared back up at the ceiling. "If there was, in fact, a Human involved, then someone knew she was up there, on the roof. There might be a mole somewhere in the department – only we had the intel."

"She could have been working with them the whole time." Jason suggested. "Maybe she ran up there, knowing she'd be saved."

Nick let out a slight scoff. "This whole thing's a mess."

Jason sighed and stood back up. He looked at Nick before digging back into his pockets. "Ah, I almost forgot."

Nick looked over at Jason as he searched for whatever he had forgotten. He finally pulled out an envelope, handing it to Nick. "Word from _The_ _Optic_ , you know, that fancy restaurant out in Sahara? They were asking for you specifically."

Nick cautiously grabbed the envelope. He slashed the rubber seal with his claw before opening up, pulling out a letter. He unfolded it before reading it aloud. "Dear _Peacekeeper_ Nicholas Wilde, you have been invited to _The Optic_ on September twenty-ninth – yada, yada, yada – at a _private_ fundraising event."

He paused. He looked back up at Jason. "This can't be right."

The wolf put up his paws. "Hey, I'm just the messenger. Though I will say, your performance at the execution was received very positively by the predators out there. I don't know... this might be some extension of that."

Nick nodded as he skimmed over the rest of the letter. He set it down on the tray and closed his eyes for a moment. Was this what he wanted – a private dinner with the nation's richest?.

Jason appeared somewhat concerned. "That's _tomorrow night_ , you know. You absolutely _have_ to be prepared. You'll be a reflection of all of us."

"Believe me," Nick said, smirking. His voice was smug, with a hint of sarcasm and hesitance. "I think I've got this."

* * *

The black had begun to give way to the gray. The rain had stalled to a drizzle – sprinkling lightly over the stained sidewalks and cracked roads. There was a strange smell in the air – something not natural. Clouds blotted the sky and the morning fog obscured the roofs of the taller buildings. The mist melded with the small droplets of rain – partly acidic. She could feel the light burning – and odd tingling sensation - around her face and ears.

Cars were beginning to fill the roads. The steam from the sewers was visible, slowly rising out of the manholes. Predators and prey populated the sidewalks. Soldiers and guards took their positions around crowds, perched in sniper towers or construction scaffolding. The city was waking up again after the curfew.

Judy watched all of this from above. She shivered. The night had faded to day, but it was still cold out.

She was wrapped in a blanket, sitting against a rusted A/C unit. Around the roof, tiny, metal chimneys emptied steady streams of smoke into the gray sky. The ground was slick and wet – puddles of water dotted the top of the building. There was a small maintenance room built into the roof – the staircase inside led into the rest of the apartment complex. The Human had used metal piping to block the door.

 _The Human._

She pulled her blanket a little closer. They had found it hung to dry outside of a window – he was quick to grab it and let her use it. It was dry in some spots and wet in others, but it provided her warmth anyway. She would be not just injured, but sick and exhausted without it.

Was it unethical? Sure. That being said, she might not be alive without it.

She sat beside his empty helmet. He had removed it to use his binoculars – something he said allowed him to see further. Apparently, they weren't used here because of the massive variances between the eyes of animals. At least, that's what he said.

Judy hadn't seen him in hours. The moon was still high in the night sky when he had settled her down on the roof. Now it was morning, and he was still nowhere to be seen. She swallowed. Her throat was tight. She hadn't had any water since yesterday. The Human had suggested she try to drink some of the rainwater, but it was too acidic and dangerous to consume.

She pulled the blankets even closer. She still couldn't believe that she didn't just see a Human – she had actually spoken to one. That was illegal under Mammalian law, but that time had long passed.

She'd heard stories of them – mostly overheard tales from soldiers who spent time out at the DMZ – the massive, militarized land border Mammalia shared with Pangea. It was snowy, mountainous terrain – only predator soldiers were allowed to go there.

They were tall, she'd heard. This was true. Only bears and the taller prey rivaled their height. Both their arms and legs were also long and lanky, proportionally larger than every other mammal. From the short glimpse of his teeth she had caught earlier, he had both predatory and herbivorous teeth – but she wasn't completely certain. The soldiers said all Humans had sharp, long fangs – they had more voluminous lips to hide that. She now realized that, more than likely, those were all myths.

She sighed before glancing down at his helmet. The Human was yet to relate his name and age to her. He also didn't fully explain what he was doing here – only saying that, "there's one last thing I need to get. I'll be back in a few hours."

He hadn't told her what he was doing, how he had found her, or where he was taking her. They had spent less than an hour together last night. When looked at objectively, this was closer to a kidnapping than anything else – and she was a willing participant. Not that she had any other choice, of course...

As she finished up her thoughts, she heard a clanging sound run along the side of the building – like boots against metal. Judy dipped her ears just below the top of the cooling unit, out of sight. She focused her listening around the rooftop.

The Human had exited the roof through a side exit – a series of metal balconies and stairs running up and down the face of apartments. This is where the sound came from now. She stayed behind the A/C unit, hiding.

The footsteps paused shortly after reaching the top of the stairs. A voice called out – that of a Human, "Hopps? Are you still here?"

Judy slowly stood up from behind the cooling unit, the blanket still wrapped around her. A cold gust ran through the air; she shivered as her eyes met his. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm still here."

The Human paused for a moment before speaking. His rifle was slung around his shoulder – there were cans of food and bottles of water cradled in his arm. He held them up slightly, walking towards Judy. "I found some food, you're probably pretty hungry."

Judy nodded, watching as the Human set down the cans of food and water bottles. The Human began going through them. "We've got canned peaches, some pears, a little applesauce, and some crackers. There's also water – hopefully enough to get us both through the day. You're a rabbit and all, so I don't think you drink muc-"

"Where were you last night?" Judy interrupted. She stared at him, his frame standing over her. The Human let out a little sigh before sitting down beside her. She swallowed. His body was large and warm – she was tempted to move closer. She didn't.

The Human shifted his eyes towards her. "I didn't tell you my name, right?"

She shook her head.

The Human sighed before sitting back. He looked at Judy before outstretching his hand. "My name's Benjamin Richardson, but you can call me Ben."

"Ben." Judy said aloud, trying out the word. She glanced at his gloved hand. His fingers were long and nimble – unlike any mammal she had seen before. She placed her paw there. She smiled. "Nice to meet you, Ben."

"Nice to meet you too, Judith."

"Call me Judy." she smiled before shaking her head. "Not even my parents call me Judith."

"Alright, Judy." the Human – now known as Ben – responded.

She removed her paw from his palm. She grabbed a water bottle and cracked the cap open, quickly drinking it down. Ben seemed to watch her intently. "Sorry I left you out here last night, there was just something I had to take care of."

Judy smiled slightly, setting down the water bottle. "Listen, thanks and all for this place and the food, but I'm fine on my own. I know where I need to go."

Ben cocked his head slightly to the side. "You don't even know why I came and saved you." he said. There was a short silence. He continued, "So, where do you need to go?"

Judy shrugged. "Well, I guess I'm part of the Resistance now, so I should probably head out east in a few weeks."

Ben shook his head. "There's nothing east. At least, there won't be a week from now. Recon shows us that Wolfram's ready to move into the region within the next few days, and when they're through, there'll be nothing left."

Judy paused for a moment. "In that case, I'll head north. There's some rebel communities up there, and I heard they're nicer than the ones out east."

"They're too reliant on supplies from the east." Ben said. "Once the east goes down, they'll fall shortly after. They're in the desert, after all."

"I can go to the Isles, way down south. They're insulated, virtually untouched by Wolfram and the military." Judy said.

Ben shook his head again. "Anyone who wants to make an impact heads back east or up north – no one goes south. There's rumors floating around that a lot of the "Resistance" members are government sympathizers, but take that how you like."

Judy swallowed. "I can stay here – there are pockets of the older factions lingering around in the city."

Ben shrugged. "At that point, it'd only be a matter of time until you're caught or found, either picked up by a sympathizer, shot by a soldier, or located through the cameras. No rebel in Zootopia lasts long."

Judy was silent. She turned away from the Human.

Ben continued, "There's nowhere to run, Judy; nowhere to hide. If you stay here, it's only a matter of time until something happens to you."

"So what's the alternative?" Judy asked, throwing the blanket off of her. She stood to her feet and paced around the rooftop. Her leg was splitting with pain, but she mustered through it. "I should go with you and work with some Humans I've never met or even _seen_? Is that what you want?"

Ben was silent as he watched Judy walk to the ledge of the building. She stood there, looking down, watching mist and fog move through the street below. Her ears were drooped and her shoulders were slumped. A cold gust swept over the rooftop – her thin shirt moved with it. She spoke again, her voice softer. "I don't know what to do."

Ben closed his eyes before speaking. "It was supposed to be a simple mission, you know? Get the data and go."

Judy didn't respond. She sat down on the ledge, her legs hanging over the side of the building. Ben stood up as he continued. "I jumped from the chopper, and a few moments later my pilot saw an enemy UAV in the air. We didn't pick it up on radar. The mission was aborted, but I was already in the air – there was no turning back."

He paused, standing just behind Judy. "There is no turning back now. The moment you accepted that drive you have, there was no going back."

Judy finally spoke. "How did you find me?"

"My friend mentioned something unfolding nearby over the comms – the military was chasing down some bunny with some stolen data. I was in the area, so I intervened." he said. "She did a little digging these past few hours while I've been gone – you've had a tough past."

Ben sat down beside Judy. His legs swayed in the open air. She glanced at him, but didn't move away. "The government killed your siblings. I think that had an impact on you – everything on your record reads that you've grown increasingly distant – even to your parents."

She looked up from the street at the city. Smoke poured into the gray sky. Water sprinkled down, lightly pattering against the old brick and concrete. She couldn't see the downtown area through all of the gray. "I don't hate this city, I don't hate these people. Everything I have is here, you know – I can't just pick up and leave."

"This city has nothing for you, not know." Ben said. "Join us, and we can make it worth something."

Judy buried her face into her arms. Ben inched slightly closer. There was a silence between them – all he could hear was the light pattering of the rain. Her shirt was becoming wet – her fur too.

She finally looked up at him. Her eyes were red and misty. She wiped a tear from her cheek. "Sure, I'll do it."

Ben smiled. "Good decision."

They both looked out at the city. The rain was coming down harder now. Lightning flashed in the far distance, followed by the rolling thunder. Regardless, the two continued to sit there – their legs swaying back and forth with the wind.

Judy looked at him. "So, what's next?"

"You and I both have the data – now we just need to get out." Ben answered. He pointed ahead of them. "You know where the main city touches the hills and the beach, that little crest?"

"Yeah, just past Rodentia."

Ben shook his head. "You guys have the craziest names for cities. But yeah, if I'm remembering this correctly correctly. Past that little ridge of hills, there's a fairly small, remote beach. There are no towns, no buildings nearby."

Judy nodded, looking off in that direction. She couldn't see the hill crest, but she remembered driving up and down there during vacations as a child. "I've been there before – I know the way."

"There's a boat there, a little inflatable raft." Ben continued. "We put it there as a backup – in the case no one can reach us – as a means of escape. The raft should still be there – the problem is getting there in the first place. Eyes are going to be everywhere, and we can't just jump from rooftop to rooftop."

Judy thought for a moment. "There's the sewers – they lead right to the beaches. There's got to be one that leads to the boat."

Ben nodded. "Good thinking. There's probably an entrance somewhere around here – we just have to be careful."

He took a deep breath. He glanced at Judy. She was staring straight ahead. "When do you want to leave? We should try to be there by nightfall."

"Soon." Judy replied. Her voice seemed distant and far away. She swallowed. "Let me just sit here for a bit, take it all in, you know."

Ben nodded, turning back towards the city. The two sat there in silence, watching the bustling, gray city. Rain continued to fall and the wind continued to blow, but they sat there, unmoving and lost in the fog.

* * *

The inside of the car was cold and sterile. Water clung to the side windows, slowly slipping away after a period of time. The window wipers slid up and down the windshield, just barely touching the glass. The interior of the car was mostly black and gray. It was old – ancient stains dotted the thin material. The dashboard was dated – there was still a place where one could insert tapes.

Nick sat in the back of the vehicle, facing the window. His snout lightly touched the glass. His breathing periodically fogged up a portion of the glass. Outside was the desert – barely visible through the mist. An endless series of dying shrubs and sandy hills passed by.

The Sahara. No one could live here.

Nick lifted his body so he could sit straight. He felt tight and trapped in his tuxedo – tailored specifically for him. His body needed to breathe. He lightly dusted off his knees before leaning back into the seat.

He glanced at the mirror in front of the driver. He was an older panther. His fur was becoming uneven and gray. The panther was staring right at him. Nick looked away, peering back outside.

The driver spoke up. His voice was gravelly and deep. "When I was younger, back when I was a kid, my Dad and I used to come on out here."

Nick sighed a little. He wasn't in the mood for a story – he'd have plenty to hear at _The Optic_.

"It was more temperate, more moderate back then, you know? It was feasible to spend some time out here."

"I don't want to offend you," Nick started, looking back up at the mirror. "but there's _nothing_ out there."

"Oh, I know." the panther said. "There wasn't anything there back then, there isn't now, and I don't think there will ever be."

Nick turned back at to the window. He watched as the droplets of rain streaked and skidded across the glass.

"This was almost sixty years ago – there wasn't any of that smog. The skies were clear and they were always clear – it never rained." the driver continued. "At night, a few hours past the sun had set, the sky lit up with stars. There were so many of them. If you went and looked at any tiny patch, two or three stars turned into ten, and ten into a hundred, and a hundred into a thousand, and then a million. Look at the thing long enough, and you'll just see this speckled sheet of white."

"We just laid there, staring up in silence." he said. There was a twinge of sadness in the panther's voice. He looked back at the road. "You can't see that now – all the cities and the smoke and the lights. Not even in the mountains or in the plains, with all the factories nowadays. All you see is gray – and that's not going away."

Nick chuckled. "Well, now you've got me depressed."

The panther laughed. "Yeah, that was way back. I remember those times qui-"

"Hold that thought." Nick said, reaching for his phone. He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. The Department was calling. He sighed. It vibrated again in his paw. He shook his head and pressed it against his ear. "Hello?"

"This is Clawthorn." Jason said on the other end. "We've got a situation going on – just now by the aqueduct. We think we've found them?"

"Found who?" Nick asked.

"Hopps." Jason said. There was a crackle on the line. "We also think there's a Human."

"Can you repeat that? Did you just say there's an actual Human with her?" Nick said. He smirked. "Guess who's right again?"

There was an audible sigh on the other end of the line. Nick glanced at the driver, who appeared very confused. Nick paused to speak with him. "Stupid video-game of mine, it doesn't matter."

"We need you here." Jason said. "We think they're trying to get into the sewers. You know every pipe and tunnel in there – you can lead a field team."

Nick sighed. He was silent for a moment. He glanced outside again. It was still raining. He finally spoke up, leaning into the driver. "Something came up – turn this car around. We're going back to Zootopia."


	5. (05) Escape

**Escape**

The concrete was slick with rain. The two of them were standing in an aqueduct – an artificial river. The wet ground sloped downwards and back up again, forming a kind of concrete channel, holding in and delivering water when needed. The water came from the northern mountains after the ice melted, but it was mostly empty now. A few puddles and small streams formed around the bottom of the aqueduct, but nothing significant had yet come to fruition.

Streets and buildings ran along the sides of the barren aqueduct. Cars passed by – barely audible over the sound of the heavy rain. It was getting darker now. Judy knew it was only five or six in the evening, but it seemed so much later. It had been a long day, after all. She also hadn't slept in almost two days now – she suspected the same of the Human.

She glanced at him as the walked along the interior of the empty concrete river. He still wore his military gear – the helmet and all. His figure was mostly black and gray. He seemed to have no problem traversing the sloped incline – she was having more difficulty than he was.

The rain pattered against her windbreaker. They had found it by the side of the aqueduct earlier. It was blue and was just her size. It was in, admittedly, rather poor condition, but both she and Ben figured that it was better than the alternative. Judy walked slightly faster to keep up with him. Her shoes were wet and her socks were drenched with water, but she had gotten used to it at this point. She finally caught up with him. She had to shout over the wind and rain. "Do you think they spotted us?"

Ben continued walking as he spoke. "There's a million cameras in the city alone – one had to have caught us at some point. They'll find us eventually and, as I said, from there it'll only be a matter of time until they dispatch a unit to try and come get us."

Judy nodded. The concrete channel lit up as lightning flashed. The thunder came shortly after, rolling across the clouded sky. She began walking faster. "If we want to leave by nightfall, we have to pick up the pace. That storm isn't going to die down anytime soon."

They continued on for some time. The rainfall seemed to become heavier and heavier – there was no clear end in sight. The sky was becoming increasingly dark – the two could see no more than thirty feet in front of them. Judy swallowed. "Does it rain like this where you're from?"

Ben paused and look up for a moment. He squinted as raindrops struck his face. The darkness seemed to enclose them. "Not like this, no. It's mostly, you can _actually_ see the sun."

He glanced back at Judy. "The closest city is Eden, just a little off the coast. I think you'll like it there. It's not a bad place, really."

They continued walking. The darkness grew closer and closer – suffocating, almost. Judy mustered through the pain in her ankle. The swelling had died down, but the pain lingered. She grimaced a little with every step she took. Ben stopped in front of her, and she followed suit. "Here we are."

It was a massive drainage pipe – easily three times the length of Ben, both in width and in height. Thick, moss-covered grating barred entry. Some water spilled through the bottom, washing down the sloped concrete. Inside was a distant blackness – neither of them could see far enough inside.

Judy recoiled as the smell hit her. She backed away slightly. "That smell is awful."

"Yeah, well," Ben said, his hands on his hips as he examined the grating from a distance. "that's how it goes."

He crouched down. There was a latch near the bottom of the grate. There was also a hinge near the top. He unlatched the lock and stood up. He licked his lips before grabbing onto two of the bars with his hands. Judy stepped back a little. He glanced at her for a moment. "Well, here goes nothing."

Ben used all of his strength to try and lift the iron grating. He grunted as he struggled – Judy noticed the rippling muscles beneath his uniform. His teeth were gritted. He only managed to move the thing less than an inch before dropping it. The metal collided with the concrete with a loud clang. Judy backed away again.

The Human was panting. His breathing was heavy and quick. There was sweat on his face, but it blended with the rain. He leaned against the wall beside the grate and swallowed before speaking out loud. "Yeah, I don't think that's gonna work. Thing's gotta way a thousand, two thousand pounds. There's no way anything can lift that."

"Well, I can probably fit through the bars if I squeeze." Judy suggested. "I can try to find you another entrance, one that's more accessible."

Ben thought for a minute before taking off his backpack. "Hold on, I have an idea."

He rummaged in his bag for a moment before retrieving a wide, flat device. It wasn't particularly large – not much larger than the size of his hand. There were a series of lights dotted along the top. Judy moved closer. "What is that thing?"

"Back away." Ben ordered as he stuck his arm out. He watched her back away before kneeling back down. He flicked a switch. The device flashed to life – green and red lights flashing around the top. He pressed another button before standing up and backing down the concrete slope. "It's an explosive charge. It should be able to take out the bars."

Judy watched as he reached into his pocket, unveiling another device. "This is a detonator, you-"

"I know what it is and I know how it works." Judy scoffed. "I'm not stupid. We should probably back away a little more."

"Alright, rabbit." Ben said. Judy frowned. He stepped another foot back before stopping. "Don't go back any further, someone on the street may see us."

Judy nodded and stepped a little to the side of him. His warmth was fulfilling.

Ben breathed in and glanced upwards. "The sound is going to be loud – everyone here is gonna hear. We'll blow it up when the thunder starts again."

Judy nodded.

They waited for a moment. The static of the rainfall enveloped the world for a period. The sound of passing cars and trucks were faint here – still barely audible over the rain. If they weren't quiet before, now they were practically nonexistent. As Ben looked over the detonator for a moment, a new sound emerged from the sky.

It wasn't thunder.

"Get down!" Ben exclaimed, his voice hushed. They both quickly dropped to the wet concrete. The sound of rotating helicopter propellers roared above before growing more distant, passing over the two. A powerful searchlight came from beneath its cockpit, pouring over the more distance sections of the aqueduct.

Ben was still on the ground. The rain pattered against his helmet as he watched the searchlight quickly go over sections of the channel further down the aqueduct. It was a military chopper – fairly clearly armed with a turret and missiles. Judy's voice was shaky as she watched it hover above the concrete. "They know we're here. We need to go."

Ben glanced around the sky. No electricity passed between clouds, now flashes were seen in the distance. The helicopter was beginning to move towards them, slowly bathing every inch of the channel in light. It would only be a matter of time until they were found.

He looked back at the charge. It was sitting at the base of the massive pipeline. He shook his head as Judy pleaded. "Come on, we have to get moving!"

Ben sighed. "Fuck it."

He flipped the switch, blowing a hole through the grating covering the pipe. Bits of concrete and rusted metal pelted them for a moment as the smoke began to clear. The whole the explosive left was large enough for him to get in. He smiled. "Alright. Let's get goin-"

He paused as the searchlight poured over them. The water dripping from Ben's face and Judy's wet fur were clear. They froze for a moment. They watched as the helicopter began to move towards them, the rotating blades becoming more and more loud.

"Go!" Judy shouted, quickly springing to her feet. She gripped her ankle for a moment before limping towards the opening. Ben quickly scrambled to his feet and darted towards the grating.

They stopped at the grating. All that was past it was pitch black – illuminated by nothing. Ben glanced at Judy. "This is your last chance – are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes!" Judy exclaimed. "So go on in! I'll follow you!"

* * *

Nick looked around.

Skyscrapers and apartment blocks surrounded him. The street was mostly empty now. Two lines of government cars and vehicles formed a kind of blockade, preventing access to the stretch of empty street. Streetlamps and red flashing lights reflected across the sidewalks, now slick with rain. Water continued to pour from the gray sky, pattering against the pavement.

Wolf and bear guards patrolled the sidewalks, armed with high-power automatic rifles. They slowly walked from building to building, closing doors and shouting at prey behind the blockade.

He looked up. Through the darkness, he could barely see the barrels of sniper rifles poking out of windows of apartment complexes.

Nick glanced at the street. A group of predators were huddled around a utility hole. They worked in the rain, the wind whipping and water soaking their fur, working to get the cover off. One of them shouted something and they all pulled up, completely removing the iron covering. They set it down nearby, striking the pavement with a clang.

"You think there's really a Human down there?" someone asked him.

Nick turned around, revealing a cougar. Like Nick, he was also wore heavy body armor and a bullet-resistant vest. Slung around his shoulder was an assault rifle.

Nick shrugged. "Don't ask me, I just work here."

The cougar chuckled slightly. He turned around and gestured to his team. There were three other members – a female silver fox, a cheetah, and a bear. All were adorned in the same style of protection Nick and the cougar wore. "They're with me, and I'm going with you. You said you encountered the rabbit last night."

"Yeah," Nick said, scratching the back of his neck. "funny story, actually..."

A gunshot erupted from behind them, Both of them snapped around, searching for the source of the noise. A dead skunk crumpled to sidewalk. Blood had been flung all across the concrete, swirling and mixing in with the rain. The prey was at the feet of a wolf. He kept his rifle pointed at the writhing mammal. Nick could hear murmurs from the crowds behind the blockades. He cougar turned back toward him.

"Fuckin' prey these days, you know." he said. "I don't know why we haven't just killed all of them yet – all they're good for are jobs and we can do those ourselves."

Nick was silent for a moment – he wasn't quite sure as to how he should respond. As he was about to speak, the static from his radio cut him off. Nick quickly picked it up and pressed the button. "Yeah, we're all here."

"Good." Jason said, his voice crackled and staticky. "We believe they _are_ heading to the beach – where you are serves as a kind of cutoff point. Go in, and you shoul-"

"Be able to block them off from the beach." Nick finished. "Do we have eyes on whatever boat or raft they're going to try to get away on?"

"Not yet." Jason replied. There was another moment of static. "Get your team down there and find them."

"Alright." Nick said. He was about to set the radio away when the cougar grabbed it from his paw. Nick glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Sir, this is Lieutenant Carl Felina of Nick's unit." he said into the radio. "Do we want the suspects dead or alive?"

There was a pause on the other end. The rain pattered against their uniforms as they awaited a response. Jason finally spoke. "I don't care what happens to the rabbit, but we _need_ that Human alive and talking."

The cougar – Carl – scoffed. "With all due respect, Commander, don't you think the Human is more dangerous than the rabbit?"

"We need the information he has in his head." Jason said. "He's a spy and an operative – his knowledge would help us piece together whatever the Humans were up to on our soil. The rabbit would be a useful addition, but she's expendable. At the end of the day, there's five of you and only one of him. Now get down there."

The transmission cut off for good. Nick looked at the cougar as he handed him back the radio. "Alright, let's get moving."

* * *

It was dark and damp. Humidity and moisture clouded the insides of the sewers, wrapping every inch in a layer of grime and wetness. All she had to see by were the occasional ceiling lights, placed few and far between. Wide, dark gaps filled the space between service areas and maintenance zones. Wet mold and algae coated many portions of the cold, crumbling walls.

She waded through small, scattered puddles as she stepped blindly through the darkness. Every now and then she would feel some kind of plant or pile of waste brush against her leg.

Judy looked up. A small, green was above her, bobbing up and down in the darkness. It was Ben's device – the goggles he said allowed him to see in the darkness. He had taken to wearing them down here. She wasn't sure how the things worked, but when she saw the steady, green light, she knew he was there.

"Hold up, I'm stopping for a moment." Ben announced. He had to explain every move he made – Judy would bump into his leg otherwise. He glanced at the device around his wrist before glancing back down the long, musty chamber. "The beacon's not too far now – only a little while longer."

"There's no more lights down the tunnel." Judy observed. Ben glanced down the chamber. "You're right. What can I do?"

"I'll just stick to the wall." Judy said. "Can't go wrong with that."

They continued on for some time. Judy's paws brushed along the length of the tunnel. The wet, slick brick – centuries old, was on the verge of falling apart. She brushed along wet cracks and wide, gaping holes. It was in worse condition than she had thought.

She swallowed. Apart from the reverberating sounds of their footsteps and the sloshing of the water, the tunnel was silent. "Ben?"

Ben continued to walk forward. Judy kept her eyes trained on that floating, green light. "Yeah?"

Judy paused for a moment as she formulated her question. "Why are you here, in Zootopia?"

She heard a quiet sigh come from his mouth. "It's my job – it's what I do."

"I didn't say ' _How_ are you in Zootopia?," Judy said. "I said ' _Why_ are you in Zootopia."

Ben swallowed. He continued walking forward. "I don't know – it's just the right thing to do, I guess. Especially after the war and all. Some of us were hellbent on exterminating you guys. You live under this harsh, authoritarian rule – maybe I just wanted to pay you guys back."

There was a silence for a minute. Judy followed that green light, her finger running along the mortar between and around bricks. "Do you remember the war?"

"I was just a kid then." Ben said. "I-"

He paused. The two continued walking. Judy waited for some kind of answer. A sigh came from Ben. "Let's just not talk about this right now, alright? You can ask all the questions you want when we get to Pangea."

"Hang on," Judy said, freezing in place. Ben paused and turned around. Judy's ears blindly searched the tunnel for anything that sounded out-of-place. "do you hear that?"

Ben tried to peer down the tunnel through his goggles. At a certain point, everything turned into a blob of green. He shook his head. "I don't see or hear anything."

They sounded like footsteps, quickly passing through some kind of pool. She heard water slosh and splash around, echoing through the tunnel. "I hear footsteps, maybe ten or twelve. I'm not sure how many."

Ben continued to peer down the tunnel. Several white lights appeared around a distant corner, bobbing up and down. Judy could see them as well. They were little more than tiny, far points of light. Ben quickly turned back around. "We need to move faster."

Judy nodded. She turned back around, walking quicker than she had before. Every few dozen steps she would turn around for a moment. Every time, the lights grew larger and larger. Ben seemed to notice this too. "Come on, Judy. Just a little more. We can make it."

He turned back around. They were gone. There were no bobbing lights, no moving figures. The tunnel was empty. "Hang on for a moment." he said.

Judy glanced around blindly, trying to focus her hearing. "Do you think they left?"

Ben grabbed his rifle from around his shoulder and held it. His eyes darted around. There was a click as he flicked the safety feature off. Live fire mode was active. He looked back up the tunnel. He could see the outside – an outline of a wet, stormy shore. He glanced back at Judy. "Ready to make a run for it?"

She nodded in the darkness. The two broke into a sprint down the tunnel. Their footsteps reverberated and bounced around the brick chambers.

They ran for less than a minute when Ben came to an abrupt halt. Judy barely managed to slow down in time, almost colliding with his leg. She fumbled around for a moment before glancing back up at the floating green light. "What is it?"

Ben let out a short breath. There was a metal door in the wall – it was open. His eyes poured over the doorway. There was a wire that came from the room. His eyes followed the wire into the main tunnel. It led to a metal canister, just slightly larger than his forearm. He recognized it instantly.

"Gas!"

The canister exploded into a rushing cloud of knockout gas – potent enough to take down an elephant in just a few seconds. Ben shielded Judy from the initial blast, almost falling directly on top of her. "Don't breathe it in."

Ben too held his breath as he got Judy to her feet. They jumped as gunfire erupted down the tunnel behind them. Tracer bullets – leaving a distinct trail of light behind them, struck the walls and the ceiling and the floor around them. Bits of concrete and bricked rained down from all sides. Judy heard a bullet whiz her ear. They had to get out of here.

Without thinking and rifle in arm, Ben grabbed Judy and picked her up. He rushed down the tunnel as bullets chased after him, pushing through the growing cloud of gas and past the storm of bullets.

He tripped and collapsed into the sand. Judy tumbled out of his grasp. She quickly jumped to her feet. Another bullet flew by. Ben crawled through the sand and away from the sewer opening, out of sight and out of range. Another tracer round flew over his head, leaving a yellow streak across the night sky.

His breathing was heavy as he threw off his helmet. He quickly examined his surroundings. They were on the beach – finally. It was stormy out – the sea was rough and the waves crashed with tremendous force. Some moonlight reflected off of the sea, blackened by night. The beach stretched for a few hundred yards. On the opposite end was a cave opening.

Judy was panting. "We're out, we're out."

Ben glanced to his side, into the tunnel. The lights were approaching, quickly. He went back behind cover and pointed towards the cave. "Judy, you see that opening over there?"

"The cave?" Judy asked. "Is that where the boat is."

Ben nodded. Still sitting against the concrete face, he took off his backpack and slung it in front of him. He dug in it for a bit before removing a hard drive. Lightning flashed in the distance. He held it out to Judy. "You take this, you take your flash drive, and you put these in that boat, alright?"

A look of concern spread across her face. "What about you?"

Ben thrust the hard drive into her paws. "You go, I can hold them off. I can outrun 'em."

Judy was frozen for a second. Lightning flashed again and a wave of thunder washed across the cloudy night sky. Ben was frustrated. "Go!"

She nodded before turning away and darting down the beach, towards the cave. The waves violently crashed as she ran, spraying her with seawater. She held the hard drive to her chest, protecting it from most of the droplets. Her hocks sunk into the brown, wet sand. She kicked up chunks of the stuff with every step she took.

Judy looked ahead. The cave opening was growing closer now.

She heard gunfire resume behind her. She sneaked a glance of what was going on behind her – Ben was returning fire with his rifle, firing down the tunnel. He didn't have enough ammo – he couldn't last forever.

She pressed on. Electricity passed between clouds, again culminating in a single, powerful bolt somewhere over the ocean. The entire sea briefly lit up with light before dimming into black again. She was just a few yards from the cave now.

Judy quickly scrambled up the rocks, towards the boat. It was a basic lifeboat, wooden and falling apart, probably from years exposed to the sea. Paddles were built into the sides of the boat. She could see part of it sticking out above the rocks. There was a rope attached to its side, pulling it would dislodge the boat.

She quickly got to her feet and used all of her weight to pull down on the rope. She heard a rock fall and the boat slid out of the side of the cave, launching it a little ways into the sea.

Lightning flashed again. Judy quickly came down the rocks, almost tripping on her way. She landed back in the sand. As she looked up, she saw the Human running towards her down the beach. Over the thunder and the heavy rain, she could hear the sound of a helicopter in the distance.

Judy started towards the boat before shouting, "What are we going to do?"

Ben seemed decisive. He ran into the rough waters and grabbed ahold of the rope attached to the boat. He walked backwards, pulling the boat back to shore. Judy was confused. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ben finally spoke up. He smiled as he looked at Judy. "Well, you're gonna need a boost to get going."

"What?"

"Just get into the boat."

He finally had drawn the boat back to shore. As Judy went to jump in, she saw several other figures behind Ben, quickly closing the distance. There was a fox, a bear, and a cougar, all armed and running down the beach. Ben ushered her into the boat. "Get in!"

Judy hopped inside. It was rather large for her size – clearly designed for Human use.

Ben began to push the boat back out to sea. Judy's breathing quickened for a moment. She turned around, watching Ben push her further into the sea. Her eyes locked with his. "Why are you doing this? I don't know what to do?"

Ben chuckled. Lightning flashed in the distance, more towards the mainland. "I think it's just the right thing to do."

"Ben?"

"Judy," Ben said. "I can't promise that I'll see you again, but I trust you."

"Ben?"

He paused and smiled. "Goodbye, Judy."

With a grunt, he gave the boat one final push, sending it over a powerful wave and into the open sea. The water was rough and fast-moving – all she could do was stare at him as he faded into the darkness. The rough sea licked up the side of her boat, spilling a little inside. Rain continued to fall from the sky. Lightning flashed in the distance, followed the roar of thunder.

Her fur was wet, now a dark gray. She sat straight, letting the lifeboat rock up and down between waves. There was a tear in her eye, but the rain washed it away. Her throat was tight and her voice was choked-up. "Ben,"

She was alone now.


	6. (06) Cry a Short Little Cry

**Cry a Short Little Cry**

The room was small and cramped. The walls were metal and had a silver sheen to them – the place was clean and sterile. The carpet was virtually untouched – pure and gray. There was a mirror in the opposite side of the room, more than likely a one-way window, and a heavy, metal door just beside it.

A chill hung in the air. Ben felt his hairs stand on end. There was a light, quiet humming, coming from somewhere in the ceiling. Probably the air conditioner. The room was illuminated by a single panel of fluorescent lights in the ceiling – everything looked white and hard.

He fidgeted in his chair a little. His hands had been tied and bound to the back of it, and his ankles were tied and bound to the aluminum chair legs. His eyes were heavy. There was a security camera in the corner of the room, pointed directly at him. There was a red light flashing on it – probably recording him.

There was no clock in the room – no day or night. He estimated that he had been here for just a little over a day. He hadn't been fed, he hadn't drank, he hadn't slept. It hurt to swallow. He had to tilt his head slightly to the side.

"Just gonna watch me, huh?" Ben asked. His voice was quiet. "You all feel safe and secure behind that glass. Remove it, and what are you?"

No response. There was a PA speaker in the ceiling, but not a single noise had come from it during his entire stay here. He settled back into his chair. "Fine, don't talk. Just do whatever, I'll be here all day."

An alarm above the door flashed and buzzed. The door unlocked and opened. Ben turned towards it.

There was an orange fox there, standing in the doorway. He wore a more decorative, gray uniform – nicely smoothed and creased. There were several pins along his chest, presumably denoting rank of some kind. Ben wasn't very well-versed on Mammalian military customs.

The door closed. The fox stood still for a moment, glaring at the Human. Ben watched as the fox moved towards the table. There was a binder under his shoulder. The fox pulled out a chair and took a seat at the table.

Ben smirked. "You should've at least given me your name before taking me home."

The fox looked up at him. Even when sitting, the Human towered over him. "I'm Officer Wilde, but-"

"Officer?" Ben interrupted, his tone sarcastic. "That's a strange first name."

Officer Wilde rolled his eyes. He reached into his holster, brandishing his handgun. He set it on the table. "Call me Nick."

"Wow, what a complete badass." Ben retorted. He glanced at the gun. It was small compared to his. "What's that, a BB gun? Go out shootin' rabbits with that thing?"

Nick turned around, peering into the mirror behind him. He shook his head before turning back towards the Human. "So, Benjamin Richardson, is it? What brings you to Zootopia?"

The Human flashed his teeth at him. Nick felt a shiver run down his spine as he noticed his fangs. He sometimes forgot that the Humans were predators, albeit in a different way. Nick's eyes narrowed. "What brings you to Zootopia?"

"Ah, just vacationing here, you know?" Ben replied. "Seeing the sights, touring at night and all that."

Nick leaned in closer. His teeth were gritted, clearly displaying his fangs. "Why are you here?"

"A real fox would maul your sorry ass so fast." Ben retorted. He leaned back in his seat, at least as far back as he could go. "For one, they don't ask questions, they just go for the bite..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nick asked.

Ben rolled his eyes. "It's a fucking joke, you dumbass. I'm goddamn Human Special Forces, and if you actually took a look at your fuckin' file there, you'd know! _Recon_ and _Surveillance_ are what I do!"

"Well, you did a pretty shitty job, huh?" Nick shot back. He sighed and shook his head before moving on. He opened the file before looking back up at the Human. Every question was scripted – he hated it. He asked them anyway. "A few nights ago, one of our databanks detected an physical intrusion. A lot of data was copied onto a drive. Was this your doing?"

"Yes."

"The following night, Judith Hopps was passed a small data drive at her office. She escaped from her apartment that evening. Were you involved in any of this?"

"Damn, she jumped?"

"Were you, or were you not involved in her obtaining the flash drive?"

"No."

"That very evening, we discovered the bodies of three dead soldiers. Was this your doing?"

Ben lunged forward in his chair. There was an anger in his eyes as shouted – the only thing keeping the Human from tearing Nick's head off his shoulders were his restraints. His voice was booming and loud. "You're goddamn right it is!"

Nick shook his head. His paws were becoming shaky. "Over the next twenty-four hours, you aided Judith Hopps in evading the authorities and funneled her out of the city, mostly through the sewer system. Is this true?"

"We both know the story, man." Ben said. "You and your team have probably been sittin' past there for a few hours, going over every bit of detail – there's no need to repeat it."

Nick looked over from the files. "You know, you're a real asshole, right?"

"And you're a real _furry_ asshole." Ben retorted. He sighed. "Dear God, just ask the damn questions!"

Nick calmed down a bit before moving onto the next question. "Do you know of Judith Hopp's current whereabouts?"

Ben was silent for a moment as he took the information in. Nick cocked his head slightly to the side, clearly waiting for a response. Ben peered into Nick's eyes. "So, you're saying she escaped?"

"I'm asking whether or not you know of her current location, nothing more." Nick repeated. "So, do you?"

"Well, she's either fifty miles at sea or locked away in this building." Ben answered. "You guys are competent, but sometimes cunning, so it could be either. I just don't know."

Nick turned around and looked into the mirror. Behind the glass stood Clawthorn and several other technicians and officers. He couldn't see them, but he knew they were there. He turned back around to face the Human and glanced at the next question. "Where did you intend on taking Judith Hopps?"

"Anywhere but here." Ben answered simply. "Trying to cut through the sea was probably our best bet to get to Pangea."

Nick sat back in his chair for a moment. He tilted his head just a little to the side. He considered this a banger of a question. "Were you, at any point during your time with Judith, in contact with your superiors."

Ben swallowed before shaking his head. "No."

Nick leaned in closer. His voice was quiet and sly – like the stereotypical fox. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

He grabbed another file, this one near the bottom of the pile, and opened it up. Ben watched as he carefully went through the papers, picking one out and setting it on the cold table every now and then. By the time Nick was done searching, there was an array of a dozen or so papers, all strewn about the table and facing Ben. From a glance, they appeared to be transcripts.

"A month or two ago, we discovered that some of your country's agents were using a unique, encrypted radio signature." Nick said, watching as Ben's eyes poured over the documents. "We didn't make the same mistake twice – we were ready and waiting for the moment you spoke into that radio we found in your helmet."

Ben remained silent as he read through the papers. Nick was a quiet for a moment before continuing. He pulled a document to the center of the table. "A few nights ago, your extraction team was forced out of the airspace by one of our fighters. They left you here, with no real way to get back."

The Human nodded. Nick paused before starting again. He pointed towards another paper. "Now, this is earlier, but you and your team talk for a bit about the data you were planning on stealing. The location, they floor and all of that."

"But what interests us the most is this." Nick said. He pointed towards a specific sentence. "It says here that you knew of what data in particular you were planning on retrieving."

He leaned in even closer. "So, what data did you retrieve?"

Ben shook his head. His voice was quiet – somewhat deflated. "I ain't tellin' you shit."

Nick let out a breath. He grabbed the metal case and pulled it towards him, popping it open. He slowly opened the lid. There was a strange kind of gun fitted into the foam. There was a dirty vial in the foam beside the gun, containing a clear liquid. Nick turned the case towards Ben for a moment before grabbing the gun.

The door opened and closed – Ben noticed a lioness walk in. Her heels tapped against the cold, hard floor with every step she took. She was in a clean, white hospital gown and her snout was covered with a mask. Ben swallowed hard. His eyes returned to Nick as he loaded the vial into the gun. "What is that?"

"Something the boys down in Science have been cooking up." Nick said. He fitted the vial into the grip of the gun. "A neurotoxin – we initially designed it to work as a weapon for crowd-control, but we found it to be far too lethal. However, in closed environments such as this room, the stuff works really well as, what do you Humans call it? 'Liquid Encouragement'?"

Ben moved as though he were readying for a fight. "Lay it on me."

Nick handed the gun to the lioness. She walked over to Ben, the clacking behind her heels following her the whole way. She adjusted a knob on gun, extending a kind of syringe. It was a little over an inch in length.

Ben glanced over to Nick. He was still sitting at the table, holding the file. He smiled. "You ready for this?"

"You won't get a goddamn thing from me!" Ben shouted. Nick motioned towards the lioness, who plunged the needle into Ben's exposed skin.

The Human winced a little as the metal sank into his tissue. He could feel the liquid be pushed into his veins and muscles, slowly wrapping around his arm. Ben looked at the vial as the lioness removed the needle from his skin – it was almost completely empty. He gritted his teeth. A warm sensation was developing in his shoulder. "You think this stuff his strong?"

He grunted as a splitting pain shot through his arm. It felt as if every bone, muscle, and tendon in his forearm had been separated and exposed. "Fuckin'..."

The pain gradually spread from his arm and into his shoulder. A white, intense pain slowly enveloped his entire body. It was a searing, burning, deep pain – he had never experienced it before. Sweat began to bead all over his body as he writhed around in the chair. Wet spots appeared all over his clothes. His hair was wet with sweat. He let out another grunt.

Nick looked on, watching Ben squirm and struggle in his chair. The Human's breaths were becoming quicker and shorter. His chest heaved up and down as he struggled for air. His eyes were watery.

Ben managed to look directly at Nick. There was a kind of fire in his eyes – a predatory glare. Nick had never before seen that, but he held firm. "Where is the data?"

Ben's voice was tired and pained, but he managed to crack a smile. "I ain't tellin' you shit."

Nick let out a breath of air as he stood up. He quickly grabbed the papers and folders before moving towards the lioness. "Get him into The Ward. I can't deal with him, not like this."

She nodded before digging back into her case, revealing a sedative. Nick turned around and started towards the door, the files in hand. As the nurse injected Ben with the sedative, he still managed to taunt him. "Get your orange-looking ass out of my cell!"

Nick snapped around for the final time. "You're more of an animal than I am!"

He turned back around and huffed before pushing through the door, all while Ben's verbal attacks continued. The cold air went silent as the door closed behind him, completely obstructing Ben's voice. The room was narrow and dark. Flashing lights of every color came from the computers and servers around him. Jason Clawthorn and several of his advisers stood around the opposite end of the room, watching Ben behind the one-way mirror.

Jason watched as Nick walked towards them. He sighed. "This Human, he's a tough one."

"It's all a mask." Nick said as he set the files onto a desk. "We'll break him down, get to him eventually."

Nick watched Ben through the mirror. The lioness, accompanied by several guards, slowly wheeled Ben out of the room. He glanced up at Jason. "You made the arrangements at The Ward?"

"Five years at Cliffside, hard solitary." Jason said. "We still have to process him at Redwater, but past that, he'll be completely locked up. A half cup of water twice a week, food every other week. No sunlight, no interaction. If that doesn't break him, nothing will."

There was silence for a moment. The computers hummed behind them. Nick finally spoke up. "Any progress on the rabbit?"

Jason shook his head. "We searched for a few hours – didn't turn up anything. The storm had taken a turn for the worse. We couldn't get our boats or choppers out at sea, and the cloud layer is still to thick to try and get an infrared image."

He leaned in a little closer. "I don't think there's any way she or the data could have survived that storm."

"Well, you know rabbits." Nick said. "She could have lived, maybe she washed up ashore or actually made it to Pangea. They have a habit for landing on their feet."

Jason slowly nodded. Nick turned to leave when he spoke up. "We have a new assignment for you – may or may not be related. Near the DMZ, a guard claimed he saw a pack of Humans getting through. You've been assigned there."

Jason grabbed a sheet of paper and handed it to Nick. Nick slowly read over the memo before setting it back on the desk. "The DMZ, it's a long ways away."

"We're holding the guard in some kind of safehouse, they want you to try and question him." Jason added. "They've assigned you a partner and everything. They're serious about this."

Nick looked up at him. "You think there's some kind of connection between those Humans and Ben?"

Jason simply shrugged. "We won't know 'til you get there."

* * *

The sea was rough and stormy. Sheets and ripples of white ran across the dark, gray water. Lightning flashed all around her. Rain poured from the thunderous, swelling clouds. The sky was an opaque, solid layer of gray. Through the rain and sea spray, she couldn't see more than fifteen feet ahead.

She clung to the sides of the boat as it lurched over another incoming wave. It was in the air for a moment before crashing back down into the sea, creating waves of its own.

Judy's eyes were shut. Her fur was drenched and soaked with water. Just a thin, gray t-shirt and her sleep-bottoms clung to her shivering body – the wind had blown her windbreaker into the sea.

A bolt of lightning came down from the sky, striking the water. The glow of the electricity lit up the gray sea, turning it a warm blue for a moment.

She grabbed the oars, roped onto each side of the boat and tried to push against the sea. She let out a cry as used the oars, her arms burning. It was of no use. The tension gave way as the oar was ripped out of the boat entirely, left to float along the rough sea. She rubbed her arm as the boat managed to pass over another wave. She couldn't help but curse. "Dammit!"

The sound of the powerful winds and crashing waves easily overpowered her cry. A blast of sea spray struck Judy, spraying her with seawater and washing salt into her eyes. She blinked rapidly and quickly rubbed her eyes. Her breaths were shaky as she lied down against the floor of the craft. It was so loud – she couldn't even hear her thoughts.

The walls of the boat provided some protection – the wind and seawater were much less prevalent. Judy could feel every movement of the small boat, every wave and swell it rolled over.

She felt the craft impact the sea again. Water lapped at the sides of the boat, some spilling down onto her as she laid down. The black sky flashed white for a moment – thunder came almost immediately after. She was in the middle of the storm – no way out now.

Judy whimpered for a moment as she closed her eyes. The water continued to drizzle upon her from the cloudy sky. There was no way she was making it to the Pangea coast, not in a boat like this.

A tear rolled down her cheek – unlike the rain and seawater, it was warm. " _How did I end up here?"_

She was lost at sea during an endless storm – one that had raged on for millenia. It was why the mammals and Humans had only made contact so recently – no boat that could pass through this weather existed. Only after the Humans made their first planes was contact made. How was she to get past this?

She felt the boat rock again, but she stood still, her paws against the walls of the craft. The rain pattered against the fur on her face – drenched with water.

Judy's thoughts turned to her parents. She had made her decision to jump and follow the Human too quickly – she hadn't time to really think through the consequences. _If_ they think she is still alive, a massive _if_ , the government might try to use her parents as leverage.

Thunder rolled through the sky again. They didn't hesitate to kill her siblings for no reason – why wouldn't they try to get to her parents?

She wondered what her coworkers and neighbors were thinking. Would they miss her? What would they say upon hearing she tried to escape the country? Would the news shock them, or would they simply shrug and continue with their day? Would Wolfram use her story as a propaganda tool, or would the media be silent?

It hurt to think about.

Judy felt her lip begin to quiver. Her throat became tight and choked-up. She tried to suppress that painful lump in her throat, but it remained now matter what she tried. It was gone – all of it. She was going to die tonight.

She began to sob silently. The warmth of her tears graced her face and her ears were burning red. Her head bobbed up and down as she sniffled.

The sky became white, but it remained white. Shadows flashed into existence all around her boat. Judy cracked open an eye and began to sit back up.

A loud horn echoed across the ocean, like one from a large container ship. Judy flattened her ears against her head and shut her eyes for a moment as the noise died down. She could feel her fur stand on end. She slowly opened her eyes, squinting as she peered into the light. It was far off, like a searchlight. It pierced through the thick layers of mist and fog.

The horn blared again – this time she was prepared. The source of the sound seemed to be close, at least closer than the light would suggest.

The massive, metal hull of a boat faded into sight, barely visible against the clouds and the sea. It was close, no more than a hundred feet away. She stared up at the deck of the ship. The tips of massive artillery cannons were visible. Several floodlights along the deck flashed to life, all centered on her. Judy put her hand up to her face, blocking some of the light.

The initial light she had noticed began to move. All around her, several other lights appeared in the sky, all focused on her. She breathlessly looked around for a moment, the rain continuing to pour from the sky. The lights were from helicopters, each circling her small craft.

She turned back towards the ship. The light from some of the helicopters made some the white block text along the hull of the ship visible.

 _HRS UNITY – HUMAN NAVY_


	7. (07) Arrival

**Arrival**

The gentle light of the sun's rays streamed in through the window in the back of the small office. The new, wooden desk was large, but she figured it'd be about the right size for a Human. It was messy – papers and folders were strewn all over the place without any apparent rhyme or reason. Even the cabinets surrounding the desk were cluttered, mostly with old binders and boxes of files. _"The natural Human habitat."_

Judy sat alone in front of the desk, her legs straight and her chin up – just as she had learned as a child. The chair behind the desk was empty – the Human hadn't yet arrived.

Sitting in front of the desk, she couldn't help but notice how it had been made using actual wood. In Mammalia, most newer desks and drawers were a kind of synthetic "wood". Here, it appeared to be made of real wood from a real tree.

It had been awhile since she'd seen one of those.

She glanced around for a moment. Behind here were several glass panels and the office door. She couldn't see anyone in the hallway. She turned back around and reached her paw out. She gingerly brushed her paw along the side of the wooden desk. She felt the tiny grooves and knots in the wood. It felt so genuine.

Judy noticed her paw. It was shaking.

They had discovered her at the best possible moment. It was almost a miracle. A Human warship had managed to slice through the clouds and rain to get to a distress beacon implanted in the boat. At least, that's what they had said. They didn't give many details on the way here.

They sent down a rescue raft to help her aboard the ship. They kept her in the medical ward for a few hours before giving her a proper shower and a new set of clothes – supposedly tailored specifically for rabbits.

Judy picked at her sleeve for a moment. She had been given a plain, white t-shirt and gray pants. They didn't fit her very well – somewhat expected, of course. The Humans didn't seem to have any particular need to make actual bunny clothing – she hadn't seen a single non-Human during her entire time on the ship.

After a few hours on the ship, they disembarked at a port near a major city called "Eden" - the Humans hadn't elaborated much further. She was separated from the rest of them and driven to some kind of office building – where she was now. She looked up. There was a fan in the ceiling, spinning somewhat slowly. The blades were brown and the lamps were molded and ornate. Like the desk, it too appeared genuine.

She let out a little breath. This was the warmest she had felt in days.

Judy heard footsteps approaching. She quickly straightened her posture as the door behind her opened.

A Human.

She watched as he walked towards his desk. Judy wasn't sure how Humans tended to age, but she assumed that he was somewhat older than Ben. Much of the fur – what they called hair – around his his head was gray. He had some hair slightly above his mouth – what the Humans called a 'mustache' – which was also gray. Like Ben, his skin was fair, but significantly more wrinkled. He wore a military uniform. Like in Mammalia, several pins placed upon his chest seemed to denote his rank.

He sat down in his chair. The fan rotated silently overhead. He stared at her for a moment before speaking, "So, that was one hell of a boat trip, huh?"

His voice was old and weathered. Judy wasn't sure how to respond. "Um, I guess?"

The man chuckled before leaning forward. "Ah, I'm just teasing."

He outstretched his hand. "Matthew Gates. I'm in charge here."

Judy tried to return the gesture, but his hand was too large for her paw. She instead shook one of his fingers. "Judith Hopps – you can call me Judy."

Gates seemed satisfied. He withdrew his hand before leaning back in his chair. He seemed to notice how tense she was. "You can relax. It's alright, you're safe now."

Judy let out a breath as she sunk a little into the chair. It was too large for her, but it felt comfortable nonetheless. Her eyes quickly darted around the room before finally landing on a large banner. It had a pattern of blue and white and was hanging from a pole in the wall. She swallowed. "What's that?"

"That?" the man asked, motioning towards the banner. "That's our flag – the flag of the Human Republic, but most people just call it the HR or Pangea."

The Human Republic – the HR. Judy silently mouthed the words. They sounded foreign and powerful. "I've never seen it before."

Gates chuckled. "Well, I guess Wolfram also banned our flag."

A shiver ran down Judy's spine. She looked down at the hardwood floor for a moment before peering back up at the Human. Gates seemed to notice her fear. He began speaking again. "Well, I'm sure you have plenty of questions, a-"

"Where's Ben?" Judy asked immediately.

Gates looked somewhat stunned. He leaned back a little and thought for a second. "After they captured him, they moved him to a Black Site, a place where they tried to interrogate him. They departed sometime recently – we don't know where they're heading next. Their intelligence communities are being very tight-lipped. All we know is that they have him."

Judy was silent for a moment as she absorbed his information. She swallowed. "Do you think they'll execute him?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. Richars-, I mean Ben, knows a lot, and they know that too. They're going to try to get him to crack – give them some information on us."

Judy nodded. Her throat was tight.

Gates opened a file drawer and removed a folder. "On the other hand, you're safe here. If you help Ben, then the best thing you can do is tell us as much information was we can. Our satellites and recon flights can only tell us so much. We have the data. We need someone with experience living in Mammalia."

She glanced at the folder before meeting his eyes. "Is this a job assignment?"

"No, we don't assign jobs here." he said. "We offer them."

Judy slowly opened the folder. There were several papers in it – some basic information in her, a few official-looking papers about residency, what appeared to be a folded map of the city. She swallowed again. "If I help you, can you save Ben?"

Gate's response was short. "We can try."

He pointed towards her papers. "We've managed to secure you an apartment a little ways out of the city. You should be entirely safe there. We have a driver who can provide for you and get you around town, at least until we manage to figure out your permanent transportation. Now, you should keep in mind the fact that there are only a handful of mammals in this entire city. Most people here will regard you as a foreigner. Walking, talking mammals aren't terribly common here. It really sucks, but don't be surprised if people treat you differently because of that."

"If you want to help us save Ben, come on back over here tomorrow." Gates said. "If not, you can live as long as you need here."

Judy nodded slightly.

* * *

The cell was small and cramped. White, concrete bricks comprised the walls of the room. At least, they used to be white. The paint was fading away and the bricks were beginning to crumble and rot away. There was a cold, rusted door planted in one of the walls. There was a small opening near the center of the door. The prison workers would slide a food tray or clothes into the opening. It offered a little window into the hall, but peering behind it would reveal only more white, cracked walls.

He lied on the exposed mattress in the corner of the room. Honestly, it was more of a mat than a proper bed. It was a little small for his frame. Stains of all colors dotted the fabric, now yellowing after decades of us. Opposite to the bed was a metal toilet, also covered in stains, this time mostly brown and yellow.

Ben lied in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was gray and concrete. A long crack ran across the length of the room. The noise of the prison enveloped the room. The talking of mammals – all predators – of every shape and species, surrounded him. The walls did little to help.

They had placed him in the predator wing, because they deemed him to be a predator. There weren't many of them in the prison. Only the worst of the worst were every convicted. The lower floors were almost entirely dedicated to prey. They didn't even have bedding or toilets.

He was forced to wear a gray jumpsuit – gray like the walls. It was tattered and baggy. He watched the fabric go up and down with every breath he took.

His eyes shifted towards the opposite wall. There was a hole straight through it, about the size of a golf ball. He wasn't able to see much – he could only make out part of the floor of the adjacent room.

Ben slowly crawled out of bed. The sounds of several dozen other prisoners surrounded him as he walked towards the wall. He knelt down. The floor was cold. He peered into the small opening.

He could make out some details of the adjacent cell. It was almost identical to his – the toilet and bed were in the corners, the floor was cracked and the walls were crumbling. He couldn't quite see who occupied the cell. There was a poster plastered against the wall. It was small, no larger than the face of an ordinary book. It was hard to see in the darkness, but there seemed to be a naked female panther sprawled out across a bed.

Ben backed away from the wall for a moment and looked away. Whoever was there must have been there for a long time.

"Who are you?" came a voice. Ben's heart jumped for a moment before he peered back into the cell. The voice came again from the bed. It was gravelly and old. "Your heart beats like a predator, but you breathe like prey. What are you."

Ben swallowed. "I'm a Human. I'm just here for the week."

"A Human, huh?" the voice said. He tried to speak again before coughing. Ben listened to the coughs for a moment – they were wet and deep. The voice soon started again. "Can't say I've ever sat next to a Human. I guess some things are new."

There was a silence for a minute, as hard as the wall between them. Ben sat against the wall, his head beside the hole. He was surprised. The other inmate – presumably a panther – didn't seem to care all that much. The breaths coming from his cell were slow and steady. He swallowed before speaking. "How long have you been here?"

"Since before you were alive, probably." the panther said. There was a sigh – it was pained. "Forty years. Ten more to go."

It was Ben's turn to speak. He had noticed an eye-patch lying on the other inmate's floor. "You're blind."

"I am." the panther replied. "Going on two, maybe two-and-a-half decades now. A guard beat my face in some years back. It's frightening at first, but you can eventually see the blessing in it.

Ben spoke again. "What'd you do?"

Silence again. He heard the panther's bed creak slightly. The panther wheezed before responding. "I was young and stupid at the time. A lot of us were. You're a Human, so you might not know, but we had slavery back then."

Ben swallowed. A chill ran down his spine.

"I was one of those dumb twenty-somethings, y'know. Back then, it was a big deal, getting your first slave. They were like maids. Unpaid, of course, and there weren't many restrictions as to what you could do with 'em. Buy an elephant to plow your fields, or a giraffe to pick your trees, or a bunny as a fuck toy – it didn't matter. As long as they were prey, you could pretty much do whatever."

Ben closed his eyes as he thought back to Judy. He looked down at the floor. He couldn't imagine a life like that.

"So I turned the age and finally went out to get a slave. I'd had it in my mind – every day and night since I was a child – a young beautiful deer – a doe. I didn't need my fields plowed, because I had no fields. I didn't need my trees picked, because I had no trees. I just had a small apartment south of Downtown. All I needed was something that could tend to me, that could cater to my needs and desires." he continued. There was a noticeably pause in his account. He resumed after a moment. "So I go out, and I see her. She's stunning. Slender frame, wide eyes, nice rump and all that. She's perfect."

The panther paused. He coughed again. Ben could hear the inmate's body shudder with every breath he took, like bones shaking in the wind. Nonetheless, the panther continued. "I bring her to the complex. It turns out, I wasn't the only one who thought she was perfect."

"My neighbor, John Dane, had taken an immediate liking to her. He was a jaguar, an older one too. His whiskers were unclipped and his bones were falling apart." the panther said.

"He raped her and killed her in the dead of night."

Ben backed his head against the wall. He shook his head. The panther continued. "I shoulda' seen it from day one. Whatever. I saw him to it – her legs were spread wide and her eyes were dead. He was fucking a corpse."

"I'm pissed – I'm mad as hell. There's an argument, the world goes blurry, and then he's layin' on my floor. He's naked – his head is smashed in and his body is all bloody. One of his ears is stuffed in his mouth, the other's sitting in a frying pan." he said. "The prosecutors said I had stabbed him eighty-eight times. Lacerations all over his body. Genital and oral mutilation. I didn't know what I was doing. I don't know what came out in me."

He sighed. "And here I am, still here. I took a life, and they took mine."

He again paused for a moment. "I know what I did was wrong. Those first few years, I disillusioned myself, but I can see the truth now. The slavery, the rape, the murder – it was all wrong. That's what forty years of staring at these four walls will do to you – it makes you discover things."

Ben swallowed. These mammals across the strait had their own lives, their own world. It was difficult to fully realize. He remained silent. He didn't know what to say. The panther seemed to notice the Human's uncertainty. "So, what are you in for? You don't see many Humans around here."

"Espionage." Ben replied simply. "Data extraction went wrong. I tried to escape, but that just didn't work out too well."

The panther grunted. He didn't seem satisfied. "Over the course of my forty years, I've seen hundreds of mammals pass in and out of your cell. After some time, you learn to pick some things up. You aren't telling me everything."

Ben shook his head again. "There was this rabbit – maybe twenty-two or twenty-three? I don't know. She was on the run – I helped her out of the city with my data."

"The rabbit," the panther responded. His voice was quieter, "is she special?"

"I don't know. I was only with her for a day, maybe two. There's not much to go on."

"Not if you paid attention." the panther said. "Do you remember her eyes? The ripples in her fur? The color in her ears?"

Ben swallowed before nodding. "Yeah, I do."

The bed creaked again. "Then there is something to go on – something to remember. You have your answer, now you just have to find it."

A silence hung in the air again. Ben thought about Judy for a moment. By now, she was somewhere – either at the bottom of the strait or the shores of Pangea. The waters were rough and the storm was relentless, but he had maintained faith in her. He didn't have a reason to – they had just met a few nights before – but he trusted her. What did that say about him?

He shook his head. He didn't want to delve into that right now.

The panther's voice began again. "I'm getting older. I know that now. I may not make it to the end of my sentence. After I discovered myself, I realized that the cruelest element of imprisonment isn't the hindrance of my ability to do bad, but the inability to do good. Your species, your army, your allegiances – they don't matter to me. You are a good person. I cannot see it – but I can feel it. My lungs grow heavier every passing day – my knees are weaker and my breaths are pained. I may have no other chance to do good in this world."

"At lunch, maybe not today, because tomorrow would work fine too," he continued. "Go and find sub-level 4."

Ben was silent for a moment, somewhat confused. "What's there?"

"The truth of this place." the panther said. "All of it. Inmates are vanishing from their cells at night – random mammals, predator and prey alike, are disappearing. You're a Human agent. Many of the people here are good. This place is a hell, and maybe you can help end it."

Ben nodded. "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

* * *

The sun felt nice against her fur. It was warm – not hot, and not entirely direct. It was setting now – the sky was turning in a gradient of a mystical pink and deepening blue. The buildings all around her were tinted orange with the dying sunlight. There was a cool breeze in the air. It was slight, but refreshing. Leaves rustled as trees swayed in the nearby park. A car passed by – it was quiet.

Judy stood alone, sitting on the wooden railing outside of her apartment. She looked around for a moment.

There were tall buildings – skyscrapers – off in the far distance. They didn't seem to be as tall as the ones in Zootopia, but from here, they appeared to be much cleaner and simpler. The last of the sunlight glimmered between the buildings as it slowly began to set, slipping further and further beyond the horizon.

She let out a little breath. The apartment complex behind her was virtually empty. Gates said that it was for her own safety. The building was old – apparently, it was set to be demolished in a few months. They still had time to find her permanent housing.

The complex was built in a U-shape, the opening facing the street. Her apartment was perfectly in the center of the 'U'. It was made of wood, not concrete, and the paint was fading, bleached from years of sunlight.

" _Us."_

The words reverberated in her head. It's what Gates had said while introducing her to the city. He accepted her so quickly - she wasn't sure as to how much thought he gave her admittance. A Human in Mammalia would have been promptly detained and questioned, if not executed outright. Did they _really_ accept her? She wasn't sure.

Her thoughts turned to Ben. It had almost been a day since she last saw him, watching her as she was pushed out and into the open sea. If Gates was being honest, the military had chosen to capture him as opposed to killing him on the beach.

She wasn't sure how the questioning process went during these types of captures - the government was notoriously tight-lipped.

Not that they'd tell prey anyways.

A chill ran down her spine. He was probably being interrogated – tortured. He was going through this pain for her. He probably had no idea that she had made it to Pangea.

Judy looked down at the ground. Her hocks were raw and bruised. Her knee still hurt, back from when she jumped from her apartment window. She had done what Ben had asked – she had delivered the data. That was all she had to do. She had no choice but to trust the Humans. Their warship was impressive – it contained technology and weaponry she had never seen or heard of before. She had complete faith in their ability to help Ben.

She let out a shaky breath. There was something tugging at her heart – something strong and painful. She wanted to do more for him – something, anything.

She dug into her pocket before pulling out a card. It was small and rectangular – like a business card. She hadn't seen one of these in years. The print was large and white against the blue background. " _Eden Defense Quarters – 124 Viction Ave."_

Judy swallowed. Accepting was the only way she could make a difference – the difference that could save Ben. If there was even the faintest chance of being able to rescue him, she absolutely had to take the opportunity.

"Well," she murmured to herself. She set the card back into her pocket before looking towards the main city. Behind the towering skyscrapers was the ocean. Even from here, she could feel the salty sea breeze in the air. "I'm coming for you, Ben."


	8. (08) Bloody Snow

Bloody Snow

Snow capped the immense peaks of the mountains, shrouded in mist and clouds. Sheer, steep walls of gray rock and stone towered into the thick layer of clouds. Tall, white trees dotted the landscape, the green in the evergreen needles barely poking through the clumps of snow. The forest ran up and down the mountains and hills. Snowflakes slowly descended from the sky. They silently landed all around the vehicle, caking the sides of the road with a sheet of snow.

Nick let out a breath inside of the SUV. Vapor formed at his snout. The cold was harsh and relentless, seeping inside of the vehicle. The kind of cold that chilled right to the bone. He shivered in his winter gear. He glanced outside his window. There was a series of cliffs and mountains nearby, maybe a few miles away. They were hardly visible in the snowy weather.

A long, gray wall ran along the top of the mountain range. He could make out intermittent red, flashing lights along the wall. The lights struggled to pierce through the gray sky. Each light indicated a lookout.

The Demilitarized Zone.

While the long, massive strait separated much of Mammalia from the Human world, there was a narrow stretch of land where the two continents met. At the northernmost point of both countries, two tectonic plates rammed into each other, forming a colossal mountain range. For millenia, the range was deemed impassable – only with the invention of planes and vehicles did the mountain range open.

Both governments saw this region as a potential weakness and took to constructing several defensive layers here. The Humans built their wall, the mammals built theirs. The Humans placed posts and turrets there, the mammals followed suit. Both sides had thousands of tanks, men, and fighters near the line. Nothing had really changed in millenia – the region was still effectively impassable.

Nick was sitting in the passenger's seat. There was a wolf driving – he grabbed for a box of cigars. The car was stopped, vibrating and rumbling slightly with the active engine. The sound was constant – the engine was trying to keep the vehicle's temperature stable. Leave it out overnight in this weather and the insides would be completely frozen over the following day.

The headlights continued flashing. Outside was a cabin. It was small and old, probably several centuries old. Despite this, the logs and wood panels looked virtually untouched. The windows were stained with the cold – a layer of snow sat on the windowsills. There was a warm, flickering, orange glow behind the glass. Beside the cabin was another black SUV, painfully obvious amid the white snow. It was empty.

The wolf beside him shook his head. His voice was deep and lazy. "I fuckin' hate this place."

Nick watched him draw in a breath through a cigar. He pulled the cigar from his mouth and let out a breath of smoke. The smell quickly spread around the inside of the car. Nick sighed. "Yeah, well."

The wolf looked at Nick. "You ready?"

He nodded. "Yeah, let's do this."

The vehicle's engine sputtered to a stop as the wolf removed the keys. The two opened the car doors and stepped out. Nick felt a chill run down his spine as soon as his fur touched the outside air. It was an indescribable cold – all-enveloping and inescapable. His snout felt especially numb. His feet sunk into the snow. Up here, some mammals were forced to wear footwear. Being a fox, it wasn't necessary for him to wear any, but he did feel a chill begin to crawl up his legs.

Nick turned to face the wolf. He watched as he flicked his cigar into the snow. The wolf's voice was low as he mumbled to himself, "It was a bad one anyway..."

Nick let out a breath as he nodded. Vapor formed at his snout again. "Alright, let's go in."

The two slowly made their way to the entrance to the cabin. Nick's steps felt heavier in the snow. Both of them were forced to walk in an awkward fashion – it was the only way they could make progress. Snowflakes landed all around them. One instantly melted upon landing on Nick's snout. Nick's thoughts wandered for a moment. " _I wonder how bunnies do in the snow..."_

Nick arrived first at the door. It was old and wooden. The hinges were rusted and there were openings between some boards of wood. Small holes dotted the surface of the door, probably due to wood-eating insects. They were especially common in the north, where there were more trees.

The wind was picking up now. It whistled between the falling snow and the evergreen trees. Nick shivered. He held his fist up to the door. He swallowed before knocking three times. Each rap against the door moved it slightly out of place. The cabin was in terrible condition.

Nick and Fangeye walked into the cabin, closing the door behind them. It was warmer inside, far warmer, in fact. The main room was small, mostly lit by candles and torches. There was a fireplace on the opposite side of the room, crackling and popping every now and then. There was a rocking chair near it. It looked as though it hadn't been touched in years. Like the door, the floor was mostly comprised of wooden boards and planks, albeit in a much better condition. There was a red carpet in the center of the room. On top of it was a small couch and an even small table.

Nick nodded as he looked around the room. "Quaint."

Fangeye walked to the corner of the room, where an oil stove sat idly. There was a sense of concern in his voice. "Someone should be here – that was the plan."

"Well, look around." Nick said. "There's gotta be something here. They wouldn't just send us to the wrong place."

Nick continued to look around the room. He came upon a small drawer. There were several picture frames placed atop – wolf family, a leopard family, a cheetah family. Fangeye seemed to notice his curiosity. "This place is a safe house – we've kept all kinds of people and their families here."

Nick slowly walked down the hallway. Like the rest of the building, the walls were made from logs. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet with every step he took. Like the main room, the hall was mostly lit by torches around the walls. There were four doors around him – each seemed to lead to a similar-sized room. He stopped at the furthest door to the right.

He peered back down the hall, into the main room. Fangeye was rummaging through a chest in the main room, looking for clues as to what happened. Nick turned back towards the door and placed his paw on the doorknob. He leaned his head into the door, listening for any noise. Nothing. He finally twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.

The room was hot and musty. The windows were boarded up and barricaded. Candles had been placed all around the creaking wooden floor. Apart from a rotting mattress in the corner and a dozen messy, empty bowls, the room was empty. The mammal – a hyena – was lying on top of the mattress, his back facing Nick. He was covered in blankets and old clothing.

Nick looked back towards the main room one last time. Fangeye was searching in another room. He turned back and slipped into the room, keeping the door open behind him. He grimaced as he stepped inside. The smell was powerful. It was pungent and foul, like the landfill burns they do out in the Burrows. He glanced at the hyena. He hadn't seemed to notice. Nick careful navigated through the scattered array of candles, eventually arriving at the hyena's bedside.

Only the hyena's head was visible behind the blankets. He was in a much worse state than Nick had imagined. His fur was patchy – clumps of it surrounded the mattress. The skin beneath was lumpy and cratered with old infection. Half of his right ear was missing. Nick swallowed as he moved away a little. He felt his heart jump when the hyena say something.

"Wh-." The hyena's voice trailed off as he spoke.

Nick cleared his throat. He didn't know the hyena was in speaking condition, if barely. "What'd you say?"

The hyena whispered something inaudible again. Nick shook his head before leaning closer into him. He was just inches from the hyena's head. "Can you repeat that?"

The voice was more clear now. It was quick and dry as sand. "What do you want?"

"My partner and I, we were called up here to ask you some questions about what you saw." Nick answered. "There was supposed to be another soldier here to keep you company. What happened to him?"

"I'm fine." came the quiet voice again. The hyena tried to speak before coughing.

Nick let out a sigh as he began to stand up. He looked around the room again before hearing Fangeye's shouts from down the hall. "He's dead, Wilde!"

"They got him," the hyena murmured. "They ain't got me."

Nick turned around and quickly darted across the maze of candles. He entered the hallway and burst into the bathroom Fangeye was in. Again, the smell hit him instantly. The stench of death and rot – its scent was unmistakable. He covered his south with his paw, slowly entering the room. Fangeye stood still in the corner.

The bathroom looked relatively recent, at least compared to the rest of the cabin. There was a sink in the corner of the room and a shower to the side of it. There was a window opposite to the sink. The tile flooring was cracked in several places. The mirror above the sink had been broken – shards of glass were scattered all over the room. Between some chunks of glass and uplifted tile were spent bullet casings – shiny and metallic against the white floor.

He looked back at his partner. Fangeye was staring at the shower curtains. They were doused with red and stained with blood. He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Nick quickly walked towards the curtains and pulled them back. There was a body in the bathtub – a soldier. A couple of flies buzzed around the body. There were several bullet wounds in his vest – the material had done nothing – the bullets tore straight through it. Blood oozed from his wounds, seeping down his uniform and into the bath. He was sitting in a pool of his own blood.

There was a gaping hole in the side of his head – an exit wound. The bullet must have shot from his chest to his head. What kind of bullets did that? What kind of hideous creatures would create that?

Nick recoiled in disgust. He glanced at Fangeye. He had a chain and a tag in his paws. "Peacekeeper Leon – he was thirty-three years old. Fuckin' hell..."

"What about his partner?" Nick asked. His paw was still cupped around his face. He shivered. The bathroom was much cooler than the rest of the house. He looked around until his eyes landed on the window opposite to the sink. The glass was frosted and stained with cold. "He couldn't have gone far..."

His eyes widened when he saw it. A patch of red in the snow, far off in the distance. There was something beside it – the body of a panther, clearly visible against the white snow. The uniform and his gear had been completely stripped from the body. "Shit."

Nick turned around exited the room, leaning against the wooden walls. He had seen plenty of mammals killed – not predators, and not like this. They hadn't been killed like soldiers, but like rabid animals. He couldn't erase the image of the body in the bathtub. His face – a chunk of his head blown apart by a bullet. His eye dangling from its socket. Blood pouring from his nose and face. His limp jaws.

He pound his balled fist against the wall. The blood was relatively fresh, recent – if only they'd arrived a few hours sooner.

With a labored breath, he lifted himself up and walked back into the room where the hyena was. He stood in the doorframe. The hyena still had his back to him. Nick raised his voice. "What happened here?"

"It was the Humans." the hyena weakly murmured. He was out of breath. Nick began to move closer, Fangeye close behind him. The hyena continued. "I was out there for a month. Out there, in the cold. They chased me from the wall and all the way into the range. A week in, I thought I had turned the tables on them, but I lost them. I found my way back to the wall, found my way back here. And still, the Humans came, and they maimed. They're animals, the whole lot of 'em."

Nick knelt back down by the stained and rotting mattress. "Why didn't they kill you?"

The hyena grunted before rolling in the sheets. His eyes were teary and full of pain. He let out a breath before pulling down some covers, revealing his bare, furry chest. Nick swallowed. The blade of a knife was lodged in him, extending eight inches into his side. The hilt of the knife was nowhere to be seen. The fur around the wound was crusted with dark, dry blood.

The hyena chuckled slightly. "There's nowhere left for me. If I take a single step, my windpipe will be sliced through. This will be the bed that I die on."

He coughed again before pulling the covers back over his chest. Nick and Fangeye stood in silence. The hyena closed his eyes. "The Humans – they're back, and this time they mean business. They weren't poking and prodding our defenses, no – they're here for a mission. They are armed and dangerous. I don't know where they're heading, or what they're thinking. But the Humans are back, and I'm not sure you can stop them."

* * *

Noise filled the air of the lobby. The sounds of footsteps across the glossy, manila floor. The echoes around the spacious room. The sounds of computers and machines clicking and whirring. The sound of voices - talking, whispering, shouting, laughing. There was a kind of strange twinge in their voices, one she couldn't quite place. Was it their accent? Was it their punctuation? Regardless, it sounded foreign – something she'd never heard before.

Judy watched the main lobby of Eden Defense Quarters from above. The interior was shaped in a cylindrical fashion – spiral stairs that looped around the walls led the way up the building. She was on the second level of the structure, standing just under the cold, aluminum railing. The railing was so high that, if she took a single poorly-placed step in the wrong direction, she would be sent plummeting sixty feet to her death. It was odd – almost everything here was designed for a sole species.

She looked around. There weren't as many people on the higher levels. That was probably why they'd asked her to come all the way up here. She had gotten here early enough to miss most of the foot traffic in the lobby. Still, she had noticed a few curious looks and hushed whispers from the people that were there. She'd only caught a fleeting glimpse of another mammal (apart from Humans, of course) in the entire building, and that was the backside of a lion about two floors above her.

Her ears perked up slightly. She heard the muffled sounds of footprints behind her. She quickly turned around. There was a Human behind the glass door – she seemed to be fumbling with the lock. She finally unlocked the door and pushed it open. Judy stood still.

The woman stared at her for a moment before blinking. "Um, are you Judith Hopps?"

"Yes, yes I am." Judy affirmed. The woman probably hasn't seen many animals. She looked at the tile before glancing back at her. "I – I was told to go here by the guide? I don't know if this is the right room, I'm sorry..."

"No, you're in the right place." the woman said. She held the door open for Judy. "You're looking for Foreign Operations, right?"

Judy nodded. She watched as the Human crouched down slightly and held out a hand. It was the same thing that Ben had tried to do a few days ago. "Welcome to the **F** oreign **F** ield **O** ffice, Miss Hopps. You can call me Harper."

Judy walked over the the woman, still crouching in the doorway. Her hand was smaller than Ben's. She was barely able to shake it. There was a smile on the woman's face the whole time. She finally stood up and held the door open for Judy. "Come on in, everyone's interested in meeting you."

Judy entered the room. It seemed to be a typical office. A large one, for sure, but a generic office nonetheless. Apart from the woman – Harper – the room was empty. The flooring here was carpeted – it felt much better beneath her hocks than the cold, hard tile outside. There was a window in the back of the room. She was too low to look through it, but she could make out the tips of skyscrapers in the distance.

She continued to look around as the woman closed the glass door. "Where is everyone?"

The woman shook her head. "Not here, at least not now. There's a meeting going on right now. Follow me."

Judy followed Harper towards a door in the corner of the room. Like her, Harper's clothes seemed to be fairly casual. She wore jeans and a loose-fitting top. Judy watched her as they walked. She had a vastly different physique from Ben. She was almost a foot shorter than him. Her arms were thinner and less muscular. Her waist was much slimmer and her thighs were heavier. The hair on her head was longer and curly, reaching down to about her shoulders. There were two round, heavy mounds fixed atop her chest. Almost all Human females she had seen had those in some shape or form.

Judy looked down at her own chest. It was flat. Maybe having _something_ there wouldn't be so bad...

She also took note of the hair on her exposed forearms, or rather the lack thereof. Harper's skin was fair and fur-less. She hadn't been able to see Ben's skin beneath his sleeves – she assumed he also had little hair there.

Harper pushed turned a doorknob and pushed open another door. A wave of cold air hit Judy. She winced before peering into the room.

It was a conference room. The walls were a solid, continuous gray – the only other color was a potted plant in the corner of the room. There was a massive, rectangular table placed in the center. Four Humans sat around the table, all of them talking. None of them had seemed to notice her. Each had a laptop in front of them. There was a massive television display built into the wall – it seemed to have a live map of Mammalia and Pangea.

Judy hesitated. She took a step back, still behind the door. She heard Harper press her hand on her back and whisper to her. "It's gonna be alright, Judy. You've just gotta walk on in."

Judy nodded and swallowed. Her heart felt as if it would beat out of her chest. She drew in a breath before stepping fully into the room. She kept her eyes to the floor. The chatter between the Humans continued uninterrupted. Harper followed closely behind Judy, carefully closing the door behind them.

The talking suddenly stopped. Judy tensed up for a moment. She continued on her way towards a chair to the side of the table. Her cheeks grew warm as the silence continued. Her ears curled down. She kept her eyes glued to the carpet. A few seconds melded into an eternity. She finally arrived at her chair. She climbed up onto the seat and stood straight – the table was too high for her to sit at anyways.

Five pairs of eyes stared at her. She swallowed again. There were emotions in their stares – curiosity, ambivalence, hostility, empathy and detachment.

Apart from Judy, there were two men and three women at the table. Silence hung in the air for a moment before the man at the far end of the table finally spoke up. His skin was darker than that of the rest of them. His voice sounded strong. "Team, I hope you've heard, but a new member is joining us today. For awhile, at least. She's here to help us find Benjamin and bring him home safely."

He paused before continuing. "Judy, welcome. I can't imagine the toll these past few days have exacted upon you. You're safe here."

It was Judy's turn to speak. Her words came out better than she had imagined. "Hi."

"Judy," the man said. "allow me to introduce you to us. My name is Richard Walker. You can call me 'Rick' if you want. I head and lead this office." he said. He gestured towards the woman beside him. "This is Lee. She runs some of the data here, but she mostly does work in the field. She's been to Zootopia several times."

Lee waved her hand and smiled. Judy did her best to smile back. Her hair was short and black – sharp bangs concealed the upper portion of her forehead. There was something with her eyes that Judy couldn't quite place. She was wearing a kind of jacket she hadn't seen before. Walker continued. "She was supposed to be on the ground with Ben, but things turned sour. She's every bit as dedicated as you to getting him back."

Walker pointed to a man just a seat down from Lee. He looked older than the rest of them – short, gray stubble dotted his mouth and chin. The folds of skin around his eyes were wrinkly and ashy. His hands rested on the top of the table – they looked rough and worn. He simply stared at Judy, not moving or saying a word. Walker paused for a moment before continuing. "This is Roy – he used to be a field agent, but now he's our lead strategist and tactician. He spent extensive time in the front lines during The War and has worked with us for the better part of thirty years. He's a man you can trust to get the job done."

He moved on from Roy to the woman seated directly across from him. She looked to be the youngest person in the room, perhaps even younger than Judy herself. Her hair was ginger and freckles dotted her rosy, fair complexion. She turned and beamed at Judy. "Aw, it's a talking bunny!"

Walker glared at her. She seemed to shrink into her seat. He shook his head before continuing. "She's Mary-Anne, our junior analyst. She's amazing with computers. Apart from you, she's our newest member here."

He then gestured towards Harper, seated beside her. "And you've already met Harper. She's also runs data analysis and writes all the papers we need to pass on. She'll show you around over the rest of day, help you familiarize yourself with our technology and systems."

Walker paused for a brief moment to straighten a stack of papers. He looked back at her. "So, Judy? What's your story?"

Judy swallowed. "Um, I'm just a secretary for a firm out in Zootopia. Or, at least, I _was_. These past few days have been pretty wild so far.

Walker seemed satisfied with her answer. He straightened the papers again before clearing his throat. "This meeting is dismissed. You all know what to do. Judy, I'll talk to you later today, just to see what you know and all. If you have any questions about anything at all, please refer them to Harper or myself. Alright?"

Judy nodded. She finally spoke for what felt like the first time in ages. "I'll try, sir."


	9. (09) Bludgeon

The fluorescent lighting beat down against Ben's skin. The lamp hummed overhead, flickering for a moment every few seconds. The sensation was strange – it reminded him of the old subways under the cities back home. He never liked taking those. The walls would be crumbling and ugly and the entire place would be a chore to even look at. He preferred to take the roads – even a packed freeway during rush hour was more tolerable than a cold, crowded, and smelly trip on the subway lines.

Except now he wasn't standing in a subway – he was standing in a prison. He was alone in the hallway. He could barely make out the sounds of yelling and laughter from the cafeteria. He was far from them, at least far enough as to not rouse the suspicion of the guards.

There was a number engraved in the metal door, "SUB4." It stood for sub-level four, presumably. Ben quickly glanced back down the hallway again. Still no one. There was a security camera in the far end of the hall, but it hung low and dead. He was in the clear.

Slowly, he turned the handle and pressed his shoulder against the door, pushing it open. It was heavier than he imagined it would be – he doubted that even most of the predators could do anything against that weight. He felt cold air strike him as the space between the door and the wall widened. Finally, the door was open completely.

It led to nothing but blackness. There seemed to be some kind of spiraled stairwell, but walking down something like that could be tricky without light.

Ben hesitated for a moment. He had nothing to go on. All the predator in the cell had mentioned was how he would find answers here – nothing on what or who could be down there.

His throat was tight. He decided to step inside. He turned around, softly and silently shutting the metal door behind him. Now there was nothing but darkness. He felt for the back of the door before turning towards the rest of the stairwell. He groped around for a moment, probing for some kind of handrail. His hand finally found one. It was lower than he would have liked – probably designed for some other mammal – and cold.

Everything around him was cold. The hairs on his arms were raised and he could feel it in his chest.

With one hand on the rail and another on the concrete wall to his side, he let them guide him down the spiral stairwell. He was careful, making sure each foot had a defined place to be planted. The cold began to lessen the further he descended – three, five, eight flights of stairs. The grated metal of the stairs echoed with each step he took. He continued his descent. The darkness began to give way to light – a warm, yellow kind of light one would typically associate with old street lights or distant campfires.

He continued down the final flight of stairs when he came upon the opening to another room. He was finally able to see – a strong, murky, yellow light shone around the room. He paused at the base of the stairs and squinted, taking the room in.

The room was wide, but made to seem small. It was divided into what appeared to be several medical and science labs, like an old medical ward. Wheeled cots lay scattered around the glossy floor of the room, between tables and the small stations that lined the walls. The floor seemed to be empty.

He let out a slight breath. He thought aloud, "Well, this is it."

Drops of water repeatedly fell from an opening in the ceiling. The tile beneath him was cracked and disheveled – he could feel the shifting of the remaining fragments beneath his feet. Banners and divisors were draped around cots and chairs. They were torn and bloodied. The stains were old – whatever happened here happened a long time ago.

Ben walked towards a table. There were papers and tattered x-rays strewn about. He felt around the underside of the table until he landed on a switch. He flicked the knob. It hummed for a moment as the tabletop began to light up. The x-rays became clearly visible.

It was of a mammal. He wasn't sure as to what kind it was – only the bright bones and the faint organs were visible. There were two separate sheets, one a little different than the other. The first x-ray appeared relatively normal – he could make out the skeleton and the rest of the major organs. He looked at it for a second before switching to the second sheet.

It was different. There were no lungs, there was no stomach. The intestines were linked directly to the throat. Complete and total mutilation.

A chill ran down his spine. He pushed the papers away and looked around the room again. This wasn't just a science lab – this was a torture chamber. He began to notice the deep, red stains that dotted the floor. They were everywhere.

A crash rang through the room. Ben snapped around, his fists curled. It sounded as though a metal tray had fallen to the hard flooring. So many air vents seemed to stem from here – the whole prison probably heard the noise. He needed evidence, and he had to be quick. He quickly grabbed the x-rays and continued combing through the room.

He stopped at a cot. The fabric was old and caked with dried blood. Ben reached down, digging his fingers under the fabric. He pulled, ripping the sheet from the cot.

He paused. If he wanted a weapon, he would need to find something heavy. His eyes darted around the dark room for a moment. He finally landed on a loose brick, slightly sticking out of the wall. He rushed over the wall and wrapped his hand around the edges of the brick. He let out a grunt as he pulled. He tore the brick from the wall, releasing a small cloud of dust.

Ben walked and opened the sheet. He placed the brick in the center and tied the sheet, forming a kind of bludegon. If he could swing it hard enough the impact alone should be enough to incapacitate or outright kill the victim.

Folding the x-rays was more difficult than he had imagined. The material seemed to want to straighten out whenever it had the chance. He quickly stuffed the folded x-rays into his pockets and looked around once more.

There was a framed photograph at one of the stations – he hadn't noticed it before. He moved in closer. There was a hyena, standing upright and smiling. Younger hyenas – presumably his children – surrounded his legs. They were hugging and smiling with him. They were somewhere in the woods – white, snow-capped mountains could be seen in the background.

His gaze shifted towards an ID card on the desk. There was an image of the same hyena, dressed in formal labwear. He worked as the lead scientist here - the hyena was a family-man and a mutilator.

Ben closed his eyes. He tried not to think about it. That always seemed to hurt his head.

He opened his eyes and looked around again. This was a laboratory. Yes. Scientists conducted experiments here. Yes. These experiments often included the torture and mutilation of mammals. Sure. But why? There had to be some kind of point in these experiments, and there had to be a reason why the lab looked so old and vacant.

He looked around again, pilfering through the papers on the desk. There had to be something he was missing. X-rays, charts, graphs - he threw all them aside. There had to be some kind of report.

His hands flew threw the drawers and folders. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing here.

In a fit of rage, he grabbed one corner of the desk. With a sudden surge of strength, he managed to flip the desk over. The crashing of the metal against the worn tile reverberated around the room. Pencils clattered to the floor and papers fluttered to the ground all around him.

"Fuck!" he shouted. This was pointless. There was nothing here.

He let out a breath. Sweat beaded his face. He wiped across his skin with his hand. He hadn't realized how hot it had become in the lab. Wasn't it just cold not too long ago?

Ben looked around the floor for a final time. His eyes landed on a sheet of paper. There were several paragraphs and clear lines - like a proper lab report. He crouched down and picked up the paper. Half of it was wet - part of it had landed in a puddle. His eyes scanned the paper.

" _FINAL REPORT - DRAFT"_

He breathed a slight sigh of relief. This was exactly what he needed. He stood back to his feet and began folding the paper when he heard it. It was a kind of humming sound - it seemed to come from everywhere. He circled around the room for a moment. The humming was the loudest in the corner of the room. He walked over to the corner and probed the area.

It was too dark to tell for certain, but there looked to be a vent embedded in the ceiling. Water dripped from between the bars. Heated air was pumped out of the vent and into the room.

Someone had control to the power and the air in the room. He had to get out of here as soon as possible.

Ben grabbed his makeshift weapon and started towards the door. He was within only a few feet of the doorframe when he heard sounds from the stairwell outside. It was hard to hear over the humming of the heater, but he could barely make out the sounds of footsteps against the metal rungs of stairs. They seemed to be distant. He had time to formulate a plan.

His breathing spiked. He quickly looked around. Perhaps he could hide under one of the cots?

The footsteps from outside were growing louder. Whatever mammal was approaching him was heavy, larger than a fox or a wolf. He frantically continued to look around.

He came upon another sheet of hospital bedding on the floor in the corner of the room. He quickly laid the bedding flat on the floor before lying down in it. He covered himself in the sheet and let it fall around him. He let his breathing calm as he began to listen.

The footsteps grew louder until they came to a sudden stop. Ben held his breath.

There was some jingling and clattering at the door. There was a click. Ben heard the metal groan as the guard pushed the door open.

The thudding of footsteps echoed around the room. The guard seemed to be pointing a flashlight around. Ben flinched slightly as the light briefly shone through the fabric of the sheet. The light danced around for a moment before he heard a click. "This is Urso, I don't see anything, over."

There was static. Whoever was on the other end finally responded. "Something must've been causing that noise. Are you sure?"

There was another click. The guard spoke again. "One hundred percent, boss. I repeat, there's nothing here, over"

The static returned. The other voice, presumably the security chief, responded again. "Alright. Well, come on back then. We need you in the cafeteria."

The radio clicked again. "Understood. Heading back now, over."

Ben's chest pounded with pain. The floor seemed to shake with each step the guard took towards the door. "Fuckin' waste of time…", he muttered.

It was time. Ben drew in a deep, sharp breath. In a single motion, he exploded out from under the sheet. Some deep, primal roar shattered the silence in the room. He lunged towards the guard, now revealed to be a bear, his arms wide.

The bear had little time to react. Ben collided with the hulking mammal, knocking the two of them to the cracked floor. The bear roared as he rolled around, effectively crushing the Human under him.

"Fuck!" Ben shouted, his voice muffled by the weight of the bear pressed against him. He blindly groped around the floor. Struggling to breath, his hand finally landed on a piece of shattered tile. It had a sharp tip. He grabbed the tile and plunged it into bear's side. Hot, thick blood quickly let from the fresh wound. The bear let out another guttural howl in pain.

The bear flopped off of Ben, clutching his side where he had been stabbed. Ben lie on the ground for a moment, recovering his breath. He quickly shot to his feet and darted towards the door. The bear bellowed again, trying to stand to his feet.

Ben reached down and grabbed the makeshift bludgeon he had devised earlier. He gripped the tied sheets and lifted it up. He turned to the bear.

He was sitting against the wall. With a powerful bellow, he managed to pluck the tile shard from his side. There was a brief spurt of blood from the wound. His eyes finally shifted to Ben. "You!"

Ben watched as the bear reached to his holster. His eyes widened. He stumbled over to the guard, his makeshift bludgeon in hand. "Fuck you!"

He lifted the weapon high above his head. The bears eyes seemed to follow it. In one, powerful motion, Ben swung down. The brick within the sheets struck the bear on his forehead, splitting it open. His entire body flinched. Ben swung again, letting the momentum of the brick carry itself through the air. The brick struck the bear's jaw, snapping it to the side and tearing crushing most of his snout.

He swung again, and again, and again. Thin threads of blood coated the walls and the ceiling. Blood dripped from his weapon, which was now on the verge of being torn apart. The bear's lifeless body sat there, his head crushed and beat-in and his legs twitching.

Ben looked up at the ceiling. His breaths were short, but deep. The bludgeon slid from his grasp and hit the floor with a thud.

He felt something warm on his face. He brushed his cheek with his hand and looked down at his palm. There was blood. It wasn't his.

He back up and leaned against the wall. His chest ached. The bear had probably broken a rib or two. He didn't have time to feel. He had to keep moving.

* * *

Judy sat alone at her desk by the window. Most of the workers had gone out to get dinner, or something like that. She couldn't quite remember. It was night now. The city lit up as the day gave way to the darkness. Small buildings and tall skyscrapers lit up the nighttime skyline. From a distance, the busy city streets seemed to flow and ebb with light. In Zootopia, much of the city went dark at night. Here, the bustle never seemed to end.

The lights seemed to end past a certain point, giving way to the blackness of the sea. It was an infinite abyss from here, stretching on endlessly into the dark. Her home was beyond it. Her family was beyond it. Ben was beyond it. Just a week ago, things were different. Things were normal.

Now, she felt as if she were on the moon.

"We've been there, you know." A voice said. "The moon."

Judy felt her heart jump. The voice had startled her. She turned around, revealing Harper. The Human girl was a few steps behind her. She must have been watching her for a while. Harper was staring up at the sky through the window, as if she were in some kind of trance. Judy swallowed before nodding. "It reminds me of home. You know, my parents' home out in the Burrows. You don't get to see it much in the city."

Harper shook her head and looked down at her feet. She adjusted her glasses. "I'm sorry, my ogling at the moon and all. Do you need any help with anything?"

Judy paused. "Actually, I do." She spun around in her chair to face the computer. Harper could sense her brain working.

Judy clicked around on the desktop monitor. As a whole, the operating system wasn't all that different from what she used back in Zootopia. Harper had showed her around most of the small things that she had been unfamiliar with earlier. Judy pulled up a map. It showed the two continents - Zootopia's _Animalia_ and the Humans' _Pangea_. Combined, they were shaped like a pair of lungs, where a thin bridge of mountainous land held them together in the north.

She pointed at the far edge of the eastern _Animalia_ coastline, where Ben's prison was located. She looked up at Harper. "Ben's there, right? Think about it. No matter which direction you guys want to go, it's over a thousand mile trip to your country. The only way I see you guys having a shot is with some kind of boat or ship, and even the closest one is a week away."

Harper swallowed and looked over the map for a second. She let out a little breath. "Walker didn't want me to tell you, but since you're here, I'm gonna say it anyways."

She pointed at the ocean, just a little off the coast near Ben's prison. "We have a ship there. It's a secret one. Their visual detectors and cameras can't find it. But if they get close, or we get close, they can ping the hell out of us with their radar. We just can't move it close enough to the prison. Walker said he has a plan, but I don't know it."

Judy let out a huff. "It'd be nice of him to let us know these things."

Harper smirked slightly. "Don't let that bother you. He's always been that kind of way. He's closed and cold at first, but once you get to know him, he's a pretty cool guy."

There was a commotion at the other end of the room. Harper's mouth was left a little open. "Speaking of which..."

The rest of the team burst into the room through the glass door, laughing and talking. They were carrying small, paper bags. Judy didn't recognize them. Harper went to talk with the group. Judy simply sat and stared.

"So, how was this trip?" Harper asked. She smiled slightly. "You said it'd be productive."

"Yeah, I have a plan." Walker replied. His voice suddenly became low. "We'll meet over dinner in a few minutes. I'll announce everything there."

Harper nodded. She turned and looked at Judy. She winked. Judy wasn't quite sure as to what she meant.

Her focus shifted to Roy. He was the lead strategist, or something like that. He mostly seemed to keep to himself. He took a seat at the desk across from her own and leaned back in his swivel chair. It creaked as it leaned back, and he let out a sigh of relief. He seemed to notice that she had been watching him. He swallowed before speaking. His voice was gruff. "Why are you doing all of this?"

Judy shook her head, confused. "I don't understand."

"I mean, ugh." Roy started. "You never even knew Ben. You met him just a few days ago. Why do you care what happens to him?"

She paused for a moment. The chatter continued around the room. "He saved my life, and he sure as didn't know who I was. Now, I'm going to save his."

Roy stared at her for a second before nodding. Judy watched as he silently turned back towards his desk. She leaned back in her chair. She noticed Mary-Anne looking at her from across the room. The young woman quickly made her way towards Judy. She was smiling and her hair bounced as she walked. She stooped down a little as she approached Judy's desk.

"Are you hungry? Is there anything you want to eat?" she asked.

Judy shook her head. "No, I'm, uh, I'm-"

She grimaced. There was a pain somewhere in her stomach. She smiled weakly. "Actually, yeah. What can I have?"

Mary-Anne quickly perked up. She dug into her paper bag. "Um, not much actually. I don't think you'd be down with burgers, and bunnies can't have fries…"

"What's a burger?" Judy asked.

The woman quickly breathed in. "Yeah, that's not something you need to know right no-"

"Tell me." Judy interrupted. Her voice was firm.

"Um…" Mary-Anne murmured. "Yeah, it's lik-"

"Conference room, now!" Walker shouted from across the floor. "It's late enough as it is, and we need to get moving. Come on - hustle!"

The office quickly grew silent. Judy watched as everyone shuffled towards the conference room. She hopped off her chair and followed suit. Most people filed into their respective chairs, some begrudgingly. Harper walked along the walls, powering on the various fixed screens and monitors. Judy settled into her seat. It must have been raised slightly to accomodate for her smaller size.

Everyone else sat down. Walker reached under the table and pressed something. The table flashed to life. It whirred as it booted quickly. A blue, satellite image of the continents appeared - Animalia and Pangea - stretched across the table. Judy lightly brushed her paw across the smooth, glass top of the table. It seemed so unreal, like something from science fiction. She swallowed as she retracted her paw.

Lee suddenly stood up, holding a tablet. Judy looked at her. Lee's hair was short and black, sort of wrapping around the top of her head. Her voice was firm and commanding, in a strange kind of way. She began. "Alright, here's the situation."

She began to slowly pace around the room, reading off of her tablet. "Ben is alive. We don't have reliable inside sources, but our data interceptions and satellite readings tell us a good deal about what's going on in there. We've also confirmed that he's at Redwater Penitentiary, which we already suspected."

Judy watched. The satellite image on the table zoomed into the Black Site in question. It was located along the east coast of the continent, less than a mile from the ocean. It was a relatively small complex, consisting of just a couple of buildings.

Walker looked over at Judy. "You ever heard anything about that place?"

All eyes were suddenly on Judy. She looked down and swallowed. "Um, mostly rumors. I wasn't even sure it existed. Apparently, Leader Wolfr-, I mean the government, only sends predators there."

Roy leaned back in his chair. "Interesting. It makes sense, sending a Human there. They can't let prey, even the interned, see a Human. Their constructed worldview would fall apart instantly. Wolfram can't let that happen."

"Something else to note, we're gonna have to work against time." Lee said. She glanced back at her tablet. The blue glow lit her face. "Redwater is primarily a processing center. Most inmates that go in are often shipped off to some other prison. Our intercepts suggests they plan to move him to Cliffside by the end of the week."

"Once he gets to Cliffside, he's done." Harper said, looking at Judy. She shook her head. "No way for us in or out. The place is a practically a concrete hole. Nothing gets in or out."

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Everybody's minds worked, pondering the situation.

Mary-Anne glanced at Walker. "Do you think Ben's pulling a Code 8?"

Walker looked pensive. Judy looked at him. "What's a Code 8?"

"Code 8…" Roy started. He sounded as if he were reading off some textbook clause. "If a field agent is somehow detained or incarcerated in any way, they may stage a revolt against their captors."

"A prison riot." Lee finished. "It sounds stupid, but it's worked. He's had the training."

"But then, what?" Judy said. "Even if he does manage to escape, what options does he have? Your ships are too far and we sure can't get there in time. He'll have no way off the continent."

There was a brief silence. It was immensely quiet. Judy could hear the subtle whirring of the table. She shot a look at Walker. He seemed to be deep in thought. "You don't have a plan?"

Walker swallowed. "I did, initiate a plan. The Director asked me to."

"And you didn't tell me?" Lee asked, clearly frustrated.

"No, I didn't." Walker said. He sounded solemn. He looked up at her, staring into her eyes. "Take us to the ridge, east of the Burrows."

Lee let out a sigh. She swiped her finger around the tablet. The table responded accordingly, zooming in on the Crescent Hills. Judy remembered them quite fondly. Her family would go out there during vacations. They ran along the entire east coast of Animalia. The hills were green and rolling - seeming to continue endlessly into that muddy, gray sky. Those were simpler times.

Walker pointed to a river that ran between the ridges. "This land here is basically a swamp - there's a lot of toxic pollutants down there. We also have a six-man team there, following the river. They're armed - they're trained. We think the Animalians know something's going on down there. Our guys should reach the penitentiary by sundown tomorrow."

"So, Ben has help." Roy summarized.

Judy looked at Walker. "You're sure this team can get him out?"

"Well, Ben's going to have to plunge the prison in chaos first." Roy answered. "But our guys down there - you won't believe what they can do. The six of them alone can take an entire compound in minutes. Hell, they've alread-"

"Roy." Harper interrupted. Her voice was stern and her face was hard. "That's enough."

Roy locked eyes with her before sinking a little back into his chair. He looked back at Judy. "You get the idea."

Walker started talking again. He pointed at the ocean. "We have a ship out there - a naval carrier. It's got enough firepower to level a city. However, there's a problem - it shows up bright as day on Wolfram's radars. If we get within a few dozen miles of the coast, they can spot us and sink the ship. Our current plan is to use these…"

Lee tapped somewhere on her tablet. A three-dimensional model of a helicopter appeared on the table. Judy noted the hard angles and design.

"Stealth helicopters." Lee continued. "They're relatively small, they're fast, and they're agile. The radars won't see them. They don't have much firepower, though. When Ben gets out with the deployed team, these will be waiting to pick them up and take them to the ship. From there, the ship follows a course back to the mainland."

Everyone sat still for a second, absorbing. Judy was astounded. They had planned and thought through every step.

Walker let out a slight sigh. "So, any questions?"


	10. (10) Ice and Snow

_Previously, on Two Worlds - Tensions have continued to rise between the Human-dominated Pangea and the animal-dominated Animalia. Nick Wilde and his partner, Fangeye, are returning to base after investigating a series of mysterious deaths that had taken place in Animalia's northern regions. Meanwhile, Ben, who had been captured upon assisting Judy in escaping Animalia, orchestrates a last-ditch attempt to break out of his confinement in Animalia's most esteemed prison. On the outside, Judy, now paired with Ben's team of operatives in Pangea, works to help him in whatever way they can._

"You know, I never did like that painting there."

The coyote glanced at the wall to see what the other guard was talking about. His eyes caught the painting, encased in a frame and protected by a layer of glass. It was old, or maybe it wasn't. Layers of cracked, dried paint coated the canvas. The scene depicted a kind of snow-capped mountain. There were several predators that stood along the peak. Below them, at the base of the mountain, hundreds of prey mammals were shown in a scramble to the top.

He turned to look at his partner again. His voice seemed to carry down the white, empty hallway. "What's wrong with it?"

"I don't know," the wolf murmured. He moved towards the painting and pointed at the mountain. "Something just feels off, y'know. Like, the message is great and all, but the paint itself looks weird. Kinda… I dunno - manufactured?"

The coyote moved closer to the painting to get a better look. His partner had a point - there was something off about the paint. "Huh, I think you're right. It doesn't look, uh, what's the word…"

"Genuine?"

"Yeah, that's it. 'Genuine'." the coyote repeated. "Huh. I never did notice-"

An echoing bang erupted in the hall. And again. And again. Blood spattered all around the pristine, immaculate white walls. The coyote watched as his partner was thrown to the ground, bleeding and lifeless. He swallowed. The coyote turned to face the source of the gunfire.

There was a Human walking down the hallway. He had a gun in his hand, aiming as he walked. Blood and grime caked the Human's face. "On the ground, now!"

The coyote was frozen, staring blankly at the gun trained on his head.

The Human stopped a few paces in front of him. His face was red and contorted with rage as he shouted. "Did you hear me, you fucking dumbass? Get your ass on the goddamn ground, right now!"

The coyote snapped back to the present. His eyes widened. Without thinking, his paw shot to his holster.

Ben squeezed the trigger. A shot rang out, and the coyote's head exploded into a flurry of blood and brain matter. Blood was thrown across the walls, leaving a streak of red across the painting and staining the walls. There was a thud as the coyote crumpled to the ground, blood still pouring from his head.

Ben let out a sharp breath. "Goddammit."

He ducked down to the slick, glossy floor. The clothes of the bear he had pummeled earlier were too large for him. These uniforms were probably a little too small, but they were still better than the orange jumpsuit he was currently wearing. He had to be fast. The gunshots were probably heard all around the prison.

Ben let the bear's gun he had taken earlier clatter to the floor. Still crouched, he quickly ripped the uniforms from the fallen guards. The dark blue fabric was stained and damp with blood. He swiftly threw the shirt over his shoulders and stepped through the pants. He picked up the gun of the coyote. It looked old-fashioned, like a revolver back in Pangea.

A heavy breath escaped his mouth. He stood up in the bloody hallway, weary and a handgun in one hand. He looked around for a second. The cafeteria wasn't too far down the hallway.

Before continuing down the hall, he paused for a moment. He leaned against the wall.

What if there was no one coming? A mission went wrong - Walker and Lee might have simply written the whole thing off. An agent died in enemy territory. It's sad, but it happens. Even if he somehow got out of this place, there'd be no one there to save him. He'd run for a bit, but Wolfram and his men would get him. They always did. And next time, they wouldn't be so merciful as to let him rot in prison or die with dignity. He'd be executed, or tortured, or worse…

Ben quickly blinked those thoughts away. Judy. He had sent Judy to Pangea. She must had made it - otherwise, that fox would have announced their discovery. Or he might not have…

"Quickly, down this hall!" came a voice. It sounded gruff and distant. Ben snapped around and dropped to the floor. Fifty feet away, the hallway ended and turned a corner, emptying into another one. That's where the voice must have come from.

He quickly moved over to the bodies of the other guards. With the amount of blood on his uniform and face, he almost seemed to blend in with the mass of bodies and death, at least from a distance. He set his arms and gun atop the body of the coyote, training his aim on the far end of the hallway. He held his breath.

Within seconds, footsteps reverberated around the enclosed hall. They grew louder and louder with each passing beat of his heart.

The incoming guards finally turned the corner, revealing themselves. They didn't seem to notice him. There were three of them - a panther, a white fox, and a lion. They rushed towards the bodies - towards him.

Ben closed one eye as the guards approached. A chunk of metal and a trail of smoke exploded from the barrel of the handgun as he pulled the trigger. The gun had kick - more than the other one he had taken.

 _BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM - Click Click_

He stopped firing when he ran out of ammunition. With time, the smoke began to clear. There were three bodies at the other end of the hall, sprawled out and bleeding onto the tiled floor.

 _That makes six for today._

Ben slowly stood to his feet, his skin and clothes dripping with the blood of others. He didn't have much more time. Soon, he'd have to face dozens, if not hundreds of guards - and there was no way he could shoot his way through that.

He swallowed before continuing down the hall, towards the cafeteria.

* * *

It was dark out still. Thick, dark clouds blanketed the sky in all directions, blocking the sun. The window wipers streaked back and forth across the glass. The rubber wiped the water away, only for drops of rain and flakes of snow to replenish the void. It seemed like an endless cycle, back and forth, back and forth.

Nick's eyes felt heavy. He stared blankly at the road in front of him, twisting and unfolding forever.

He glanced at Fangeye. He was sitting beside him in the SUV. He was staring out the side window at the forest, watching it rush by. His fur was matted, still wet from the snow. His yellow eyes seemed glassy and distant. Nick swallowed before speaking, taking his eyes off the road for a moment. "Anything wrong?"

Fangeye swallowed. He paused before speaking. "That guy, back in the cabin. We just left him. He's gonna die in there."

Nick's eyes returned to the road. "Yeah, he is."

His partner shook his head. "I don't know. Just doesn't feel right."

Nick nodded. "We couldn't have saved him. Once we get out and away from these mountains, we'll contact HQ and tell them what happened."

"Yeah."

A strict silence enveloped the SUV again. The only sounds were the quiet rumble of the engine and the monotonous, repetitive beating of the window wipers. As time passed, the rain gradually began to turn into snow. A blanket of white haze enveloped the countryside. The road ahead became obscured, the SUV's headlights were barely able to pierce through the intense fog.

Nick handed his radio to Fangeye. "Try to contact base, see if they can get our signal."

Fangeye put the radio to his snout. "This is Unit 7, checking in. Can anyone copy, over?"

No response.

He clicked the radio again. "Again, this is Unit 7. Can anyone copy, over?"

No response. Fangeye shook his head. "We're still too far out. Fifteen, maybe twenty more miles and we should be good."

Nick tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The roads were becoming slippery. Even the chains couldn't prevent the tires from sliding slightly to the side. The window wipers continued to beat from side to side, side to side - it was almost tranquilizing.

A low, guttural rumble suddenly washed over the forest. It sounded deep and distant, almost like a faraway explosion. The ground began to quake beneath the vehicle, shaking some snow out of the trees nearby. Nick fought to keep the steering wheel straight and let his foot off the gas.

Fangeye looked at Nick. "Did you feel that?"

"Yeah, I did." Nick replied, guiding the car to the side of the road. "Sounded like an explosion - I dunno how far…"

Fangeye clicked the radio again. "This is Unit 7. Can anyone copy? I repeat, can anyone copy?"

 _Boom…_

Another rumble shot through the ground. The trees swayed and the car seemed to shake. Falling pine needles clattered against the surface of the windshield. Fangeye shot a look at Nick. "What the hell is going on?"

Nick paused for a moment to think. He nodded. "Let's get out of the car, see if we get better reception."

Fangeye nodded in agreement and the two simultaneously popped the side doors open. A gust of cold air whipped across Nick's fur. The snow had stopped. He glanced around their surroundings as he closed the door behind him. It was difficult to see anything clearly, even as the fog began to dissipate. There was a small hill on the other side of the street. He gestured towards Fangeye, and the two started towards the hill.

His boots sank into the inches of snow. It was thick and crunchy. His hind legs struggled against the substance, but they trudged on up the hill.

By the time they reached the top of the hill, his partner was almost entirely out of breath. Nick put his hand out. "The radio."

Fangeye panted, handing him the device. "Yeah. You try."

Nick clicked the button and put the radio to his face. "This is Unit 7, returning to base from up North. Can anyone copy? Over."

No response.

"Is anyone in need of assistance? Over."

No response.

Nick shook his head. "Fuck."

The snow began to fall again. The wind howled. The air ruffled his fur. Even from the hill, the world seemed empty. Black trees dotted the rugged landscape, and sheer mountains climbed into the sky, but the world still seemed empty. It was a strange sensation.

Nick was about to turn around when he heard something. It was faint and distant.

"Help!" came the voice, between the wind and snow. It sounded feminine. "Help me!"

Nick peered into the distance. The road was caked with snow. There was a figure coming down the road. It appeared to be limping.

It left a trail of red behind it.

Nick quickly started down the mountain. He and Fangeye sprinted towards the figure. Their boots crunched and kicked up the snow that blanketed the road. His partner stopped suddenly in the snow. Nick did the same. He walked up to Fangeye, still eying the figure. "Why'd you stop?"

"I think it's a capybara."

Nick shook his head. "So what? We need to know what happened."

Fangeye seemed to hesitate for a moment. He nodded. "Alright."

The two started towards the figure again. As the grew closer, Nick too began to make out the figure of a capybara.

"Help, please!" came the voice again. It was definitely a woman.

The two slowed as they approached the capybara. Fangeye stopped and drew his gun. The capybara moved faster towards them. She was dressed in a kind of jumpsuit. "Help!"

Nick stopped at the capybara. "What happened?"

"I don't, I don't k-"

"What the hell happened?" Nick shouted, quickly pointing his handgun at her. She fell backwards into the snow before slowly sitting back up.

She stood still, staring up at him from the snow. Her fur ruffled in the cold wind. Her snout quivered and shook in the frigid air. Nick lost his breath for a moment. His eyes moved down towards her legs, sprawled out on the ground. A chunk of her leg was missing entirely - blood poured from the open wound.

She swallowed. There was a kind of weakness in her voice. "Please."

"What happened?" Nick interrogated. His voice was calmer now. "What did this?"

The capybara glanced at Fangeye before looking back at him. "I was being transported. I don't know where. There was an explosion. I just - I just _ran_."

Nick paused for a moment, taking the information. He looked back at her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "You're coming with us."

Fangeye seemed confused. "What are you doing?"

"She's no good to us dead…" Nick responded, helping the capybara walk.

"No! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Fangeye roared as he walked up to the two of them, his gun still trained on her.

"Hey, back off!" Nick shouted back. "We'll get her to base, have our guys question her, and move on! What's so hard to understand."

"Don't take another step, Wilde." Fangeye said under his breath.

"Well, what are you gonna do? Shoot me?" Nick asked.

A silence settled on the snowy road. Neither of the two said a word. Fangeye glared at him. His stare was painful, but Nick persisted.

"We're leaving." Nick said. "That's final."

Fangeyes swallowed. He looked at the capybara and back at Nick. "Fine. We'll bring her back." he said. He moved closer to Nick. "But don't think _ isn't gonna hear about this."

* * *

Blood spatter clung to his clothes and skin. Ben walked down the hallway, a handgun in each hand. He walked with power and determination. He blocked the sheer, immaculate whiteness of walls in his head - his eyes were trained solely on the door he walked towards. That door grew closer and closer.

There was a sign above it - "CAFETERIA" in black, blocky text. This would be his last stand - his last plea.

Alarms blared and flashed red in a dizzying cacophony of light and sound, periodically casting the hall in a even, dismal red light.

He stopped at the door. He paused.

Ben glanced at the hall behind him. Bodies dotted the glossy floor, sprawled out and lifeless. There were dozens of them. Was it worth it? What idea is worth that cost in lives?

A soldier shouldn't think.

He drew in a deep, shaky breath. With a heave, he kicked through the heavy, metal door, weapons at the ready.

His mind went blank. The cafeteria was somewhat circular, with two distinct floors that wrapped around the main area like rings. The lights were dimmed slightly in here as well. Close to two dozen predator prisoners of all races and sizes - wolves, foxes, lions cheetahs, jaguars - were standing along the walls. Six guards, all armed with assault rifles, watched their prisoners and the door. Four on the first floor, two on the upper floor. The rest were probably close by.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as he burst through the door. All of the guards' heads snapped in his direction. Even some of the prisoners turned to try and look at him.

His arms flew up to his face, his eyes locked on his targets.

 _Boom, boom._

The recoil shot through his arms as bullets exploded from the barrels of the guns. Hot chunks of metal tore through the bodies of the prison guards, sending blood flying all over the room. Ben quickly moved on to his next set of targets.

 _Boom, boom, boom._

They dropped to the floor as well. He shifted again.

 _Boom, boom, boom, click._

Trails of smoke wafted around him. Screams and shouts echoed. Small, metal casings let out a little ring as the fell to the floor. They were dead. They were all dead. A dead silence hung over the room. The alarms continued to flash overhead, washing the room again and again with that hard, red glow.

Ben felt like collapsing and letting himself rest. Simply being able to close his eyes and feel something against his back - the whole idea sounded tempting. But it was impossible, and he knew that.

The stunned stares from the onlookers had begun to reshape into suspicion. Dozens of predators - Animalia's most dangerous - now glared at him with that predatory eye. The ones with him on the ground floor began to slowly move closer - bears, foxes, panthers and tigers alike. Those on the upper floors watched with feverous intent, wrapping their arms around the rails and peering down from the walkways.

Ben felt his heart began to race as they continued to move closer. He had to get them on his side - somehow…

He raised his arms up, in a clear display of nonviolence. He let the handguns fall from his hands, clattering to the tile floor. He stepped back slightly. Their approach slowed.

"I need your help."

The words bounced around the walls of the prison. A plethora of expressions arose from the inmates - curiosity, hatred, skepticality - at once, every soul in the jungle of concrete decided their stance.

"Leave us, you fucking animal!" came a shout from his left. "Begone, Human scum!" came from his right. Ben remained still - his face yet unmoving.

His voice was more clear this time. "Things are getting rough out there. I can bet you, at this very moment, there's a couple hundred police units swirling around outside, just waiting for their orders. Come morning, this prison will be nothing but piles of rubble. If you want to live, you're gonna have to help me."

* * *

Thunder clapped and waves roared as the ship swayed back and forth. Rain pounded against the slick, dark tarmac. Judy stood directly in the middle of the flight deck, looking over the edge of the aircraft carrier. The white water foamed and thrashed as powerful propellers spun on the underside of the ship. A brief flash of light in the distance caught her eye. Lightning struck the ocean, illuminating the surrounding water for a short moment.

Behind her, hundreds of flight crew members and sailors darted across the flight deck. A cacophony of sounds emanated from the tarmac - indistinct yelling, whirring propellers, beeping vehicles and whining engines. A week ago, she'd be floored by the sight. Now, she had no option but to tune it all out.

An _insertion_ \- that's what Walker had called it. No ship could reach Ben in time. The group had deduced that a pair of long-range stealth helicopters, _Seahawks_ , could muster enough distance to deliver them within an immediate distance of the prison where Ben was being held.

Risky? Highly. The crew had no uniform opinion on her joining them. Roy resisted the idea most ardently. Lee was quieter, but she shared a similar opinion. Mary-Anne and Walker had come to the decision that her past time in Animalia would be advantageous - like a guide of sorts.

According to Walker, there was also a small, six-man team in the process of infiltrating her country. They would be at the prison within hours.

Droplets pattered against her rain jacket. The carrier swayed a little to the side again. Judy felt her heart jump before quickly regaining her footing. Her legs felt weak and unsteady. She longed for dry land.

She wasn't ready. She'd known this for some time, but only now was this fear really starting to rear its ugly head in. She couldn't help jumping to conclusions. That's just how her mind operated. Any number of things could go wrong and jeopardize not only the mission, but Ben's life and her own.

Judy snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a shadow pass over her. She looked up.

Lee. She was in similar attire - albeit much larger. Water covered her face and her exposed, black hair was drenched. She flashed a little smile at her from above. "How's it goin'?"

"Not bad," Judy said, trying to sound cheerful. She failed miserably, and Lee could sense that. Judy watched out of the corner of her eye as Lee turned to a sitting position on the edge of the runway. Her legs dangled above the roaring engines and spitting water below. A chill rushed over Judy's body.

There was silence for a moment. Judy watched Lee more closely. She had a hard look on her face as she stared out at the open, stormy sea. She almost seemed lost in it. Judy decided to speak up.

"Do you think we'll find him?"

It was a stupid question. Of course, there was no way of Lee being able to know for certain. For some reason, she felt the need to ask it anyway.

Lee was quiet for a period. Judy could practically see the gears working in her head. She finally responded, "Have you ever heard of the Snow Wars?"

Judy shook her head. Lee let out a little chuckle. "Of course you wouldn't. Your government probably has that information locked tight somewhere, probably being prepped to burn. I understand it. We didn't let much leak on our side either. We - Humans - try to look as rational as we can. It's how we separate ourselves from the animals… at least, that's how we see it. No offense, right?"

Judy shook her head again. "None taken."

"At our cores, we're the same." Lee continued. "We're all reactive creatures. If word got out of long, drawn-out battles during the dead of night at the DMZ, the whole public would be pushing for war. We're advanced, sure, but we can't take on a continent that's our equal in many aspects. So, we kept hush about the things."

"'Snow Wars' - such a lame name. I'm sure some generals on this ship, probably under both our asses, love the term. They weren't even battles - they were slow skirmishes. A patrol gets shot at on one side, reinforcements arrive… whole thing turns into these rolling gunfights."

Lee paused for a moment. She was still staring off. "Ben and I - we were investigating this tunnel some patrols had found. We got a squad with us and went in."

She shook her head before letting out a shaky breath. "It was a trap. We should have known. The whole place was rigged to blow. Four tons of TNT leveled the tunnel, taking half of the mountain with it. The rest of the squad was wiped out instantly. The way the rock fell, it created this tiny enclosure. You couldn't even stand up in there."

Judy watched as Lee quickly lifted the edge of her jacket, revealing a sliver of her skin. There was a long scar. She let the jacket drop. "After everything came down, I was pinned down by a boulder. I couldn't get out from under it. Ben got me out from under. I was effectively paralyzed. We had no food, no water, no radio. I firmly believed that we would die in there."

"But Ben," Lee continued, smiling. "He wouldn't have any of it. He broke his gun in half and literally began digging. It took days - the rock had collapsed twice - but he finally found a way out. He dragged me, kicking and screaming, out into the snow and hauled me all the way to base."

She grew quiet again. "He should've won a medal for that, but y'know, secrecy and all that. Sometimes, when he puts himself in these situations, a part of me can't help but think that he's still trying."

There was silence between them for a time. Lee finally turned to look at Judy. "Listen, the point is - Ben's a hardy guy. He's going to be okay."


End file.
